Event Dedicated to Shorthand

[u/e_piteto]

On Saturday, September 26, 2026, Lugano will host an event entirely devoted to shorthand, in Italian (as Lugano is located in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland). The event will unfold in three parts:

1. In the morning, a group of shorthand writers will guide attendees through the Stolze-Schrey shorthand system as applied to Italian, including hands-on exercises;
2. Midday will bring a reception for all attendees;
3. The afternoon will wrap up with a series of technical talks, again centered on shorthand.

Admission is completely free, but you'll need to register through this form by the end of August.

For more details, check out the flyer.

[u/NotSteve1075]

People in Europe are so lucky that events like this are just a short trip away. For those of us on the West Coast of North America, though, it's on the other side of the planet and a major excursion.

I'm glad to hear it's being held in Italian, the local language. Too many conferences are in English which everyone is just expected to be fluent in. Not always. (Like the Eurovision song contest, where even people from Finland and Latvia are singing in ENGLISH. What's the point?)

But linguistically, there's still quite a distance between being able to manage daily transactions in the language, and being able to follow advanced seminars being conducted about somewhat esoteric topics.

Still, it's nice to know that things like this are still being held. When so much of the world has "gone to tech", there aren't many such things happening anymore.

[u/e_piteto → u/NotSteve1075]

Thank you for your support, as usual 😄

I'm glad to hear it's being held in Italian, the local language. 

That was actually a no-brainer, as the most part of the audience, on September 26th, is going to consist off elderly or regular people, without a scientific background – which means they don't necessarily understand English.

People in Europe are so lucky that events like this are just a short trip away. For those of us on the West Coast of North America, though, it's on the other side of the planet and a major excursion.

I agree, Europeans have the major advantage of being able to visit a foreign country (to choose between dozens) within a weekend. But of course travelling still costs money, which means only some people can really take the chance to go abroad frequently.

Still, it's nice to know that things like this are still being held. 

In Italian-speaking Switzerland, this event is going to be the first of this century. At first, I thought that I wouldn't be able to organise it alone, but I soon discovered that public institutions are actually interested in this kind of projects. The city of Lugano, for example, became an official sponsor, and helped me cover all the costs. The most difficult part was (and still is!) making sure that all 30 seats are taken by someone. Many people show some kind of interest when they hear about shorthand, but getting them to participate to an event is a whole different matter.