communication department

Volume XX Number 1

Forty Years of STC in Israel

By Paul Bernstein, International Liaison and Past President, Israel Chapter

The Israel chapter, which joined the Society of Technical Writers and Publishers (STWP, one of STC’s parent organizations) in 1967, is the Society’s oldest community outside North America. Highlights of the chapter’s fortieth anniversary celebration in 2007 include the presentation of results from the first professional survey of technical communicators in Israel and the chapter’s semiannual convention, which will be held June 4 in Herzliya.

Since March 1967, when Gunther Marx, who was then a Director-Sponsor of STWP, informed Israel that its petition to join STWP had been accepted, much has changed in technical communication in Israel. The 1980s saw a rush of Israeli technical communication talent moving from military-industrial hardware into commercial software. Despite this growth, STC activity remained low, and in the early 1990s the chapter was faced with disbandment. However, STC Israel demonstrated its viability with a new philosophy, addressed to members and nonmembers, of more frequent, smaller meetings around the country and regular publication of a newsletter.

The Israel chapter has thrived despite the turbulent times of Israel’s history, with local and overseas participants in professional events, annual general meetings, dinners, and conferences. On behalf of the Israel chapter, I invite you to attend our convention in June. The theme of the convention, “The Proactive Technical Communicator: Multiple Disciplines, Multiple Approaches,” addresses the changing world of technical communication, where new concepts, skills, and technologies must be learned to meet future challenges in our profession. For more information, please visit the Israel chapter Web site.