WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Heeding the call of President Obama, legislators, and regulators, leading practitioners of plain language communications in financial services, government agencies, healthcare, and more will meet at the National Press Club in Washington to discuss Achieving Transparency through Plain Language.
The 2009 Center for Plain Language Symposium, sponsored by leading global strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale, one of the founders of the Plain Language movement, will take place on Friday, October 30, 2009 from 12:30-5:00 p.m.
Dr. Annetta Cheek, Chair of the Center for Plain Language, and Alan Siegel, Chairman and CEO of Siegel+Gale, will open the half-day program. Congressman Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) will give the keynote speech discussing his bill, The Plain Language Act of 2009, currently before Congress. The bill requires the federal government to write documents such as letters from the Social Security Administration or a notice from the Department of Veterans Affairs in simple, easy-to-understand language.
Other highlights include:
- Jodi L. Patterson (Office of Taxpayer Burden Reduction) on the new taxpayer-friendly communications initiative at the IRS
- Dennis Campbell (Harvard Business School) on how information design can help credit card holders manage credit more wisely
- Janice (Ginny) Redish (Redish & Associates) on how plain language can improve accuracy at the ballot box
- Deborah Bosley (The Plain Language Group) on how plain language can improve executive compensation requirements mandated by the SEC
"The time has never been more critical for language simplification to be broadly adopted across business, government, healthcare, and especially, financial services," says Alan Siegel, Chairman and CEO of Siegel+Gale. "President Obama has issued his call for transparency and simplified language and contracts. We are here to answer it."
Other speakers include Josiah Fiske, Firehouse Financial Communications; Karl Gude, Michigan State University School of Journalism; Sandra Hilfiker, Department of Health and Human Services; Karen Schriver, KSA Communication Design & Research; and from Siegel+Gale, Irene Etzkorn, Dona Wong (formerly of The Wall Street Journal), and Mr. Siegel.
Who Should Attend: Government executives and regulatory agency staff; legal, compliance, medical, non-profit, advocacy, NGO, and trade association executives; industry marketing executives, chiefs of staff, customer experience leaders, customer care professionals, and corporate communications heads; and Plain Language practitioners across all disciplines.
To Register: The complete program schedule and registration information are available at the Center for Plain Language Website: http://www.centerforplainlanguage.org/events/symposium_2009.html.
For Journalists: If you would like to receive press credentials to attend the conference or to speak with Annetta Cheek, Chair of the Center for Plain Language, please contact Davia Temin, Christine Summerson, or Trang Mar of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or news@teminandco.com.
About The Center for Plain Language
The Center for Plain Language (www.centerforplainlanguage.org) wants government and business documents to be clear and understandable. We support those who use plain language, train those who should use plain language, and urge people to demand plain language in all the documents they receive, read, and use. The Center is a non-profit organization, [501(c)(3)], located in the Washington, D.C. area.
About Siegel+Gale
Siegel+Gale (www.siegelgale.com) is one of the world's premier strategic branding companies and a pioneer in simplifying complex customer communications. Since it was founded by Alan Siegel in 1969, the firm has applied the art and science of simplicity to create branding programs that have helped many of the world's best-known organizations excel. Driven by its philosophy of "Simple is Smart," Siegel+Gale has led the way in bringing innovation to the corporate branding field, including transforming complex, incomprehensible customer communications into plain English; helping clients create distinctive brand voices across all their communications; transporting brands onto the Internet; and aligning the brand experience with the brand promise.
The firm's clients include AARP, Aetna, American Express, Bank of America, Dell, The Four Seasons Hotel Group, The Internal Revenue Service, Lexus, Merrill Lynch, 3M, Microsoft, Motorola, the National Basketball Association, Pfizer, and Sony PlayStation. Siegel+Gale has offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and Dubai, and strategic partnerships around the world.
Siegel+Gale is part of the Omnicom Group Inc. (www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms serve over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.
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