In the age of Corona, everything is online - and the amount of virtual events available seems to have ballooned from previous years. Conferences - virtual or otherwise - are a great way to become more informed on a topic of your choosing, but attending is not the only way to get involved. Acting as an individual speaker or panelist can be a great way to gain new skills and learn about conference proceedings while remaining engaged on the subject matter at hand.
In May 2020, I was able to attend the Together│Ensemble 2020 conference, taglined as “Canada’s Conference on the SDGs” (Sustainable Development Goals). However, instead of attending solely to observe sessions, I was able to serve on a panel together with a diverse, dedicated group of individuals.
Serving on a panel or acting as an individual speaker is a much different experience than being an attendee alone. Pitching and preparing a presentation can take an incredible amount of time, and the individuals you choose to work with can be equally important to your success. For the conference in mid-May, pitches were submitted in March and we were informed of our acceptance in early April.
In my case, my team’s accepted pitch included creating the panel itself, with each of us acting as panelists or moderators. Our pitch focused on a topic that we each found important, motivating us all to make the panel successful. “Elect Her: Womxn’s Political Participation and the SDGs” was created to show that providing funding and support to elect women-identified political candidates can move Canada toward reaching our SDG goals by 2030. In our panel session, we had each member of our team represent a different viewpoint (for example, Indigenous, BIPOC, queer, immigrant, and people with disabilities) to speak on how funding campaigns for such candidates could not only help achieve gender equality (SDG 5), but could also help to create policies that empower womxn socially and economically.
Taking into consideration our limited time to present, as well as the potential “Zoom fatigue” of attendees, we found it best for each panelist to hand over the “mic” after a few minutes of speaking. This helped to maintain viewers’ attention while making sure each panelist had a chance to share their individual viewpoints. We had the luxury of being several weeks out from the conference when we were informed of our pitch acceptance, and we used the time to do as many practice runs as possible, with edits being made each time an alteration was suggested. We also made sure to allow time for a question & answer period.
The dedication of each team member to their part of the work - along with the practice runs - made for a very successful session, and this was reflected in the number of attendees that chose to both pose questions and attend the after-event virtual conversation space. It also helped that the organizations we partnered with were very supportive of us and advertised the event throughout their social media accounts.
In short, these are my lessons on acting as a panelist:
Make sure to pick a dedicated team with individuals that value cooperation. I was very lucky in this respect, and would be very happy to work with any of my fellow panelists again! You are using the opportunity not just to learn about panels, but to make new colleagues.
Practice and then practice some more, especially when it comes to timing. Friends, family, and fellow colleagues can be great practice audiences and may suggest improvements you haven’t thought of. Filming the practices for review can also help your team to find potential areas of improvement (and yes, we all do sound weird on video!).
Be prepared for questions based on the focus of your speech. In my panel, each panelist and the moderator were able to act as experts in a different area.
Divide up the work, but make sure that each person on the team is on board with the amount of work they are given.
When working in a team, select an individual to be the main organizer or “communicator” responsible for touching base with conference liaison(s), so that several people aren’t emailing the liaison with the same question.
Advertise as much as possible before your event. Make use of your social media accounts, and ask your colleagues and other organizations you work with if they are able to support the event by reposting (and of course by attending!).
Attending Conferences (...virtually)
When attending conferences virtually, it can be easy to feel disengaged even if you’re the most active of listeners, especially after attending multiple sessions. (If you’ve ever had back-to-back morning classes, you’ll know the feeling!) After attending multiple conferences in the past several years, I’ve come to learn that there are a few key points toward getting the most out of your attendance.
Tips on attending conferences in general:
Take notes! Even if you are not familiar with the topic, chances are that upon review, you’ll find ways to make connections to subjects you already know and love.
Ask questions! Speakers and panelists are time-limited, and may not be able to cover everything they’d wish to mention. If you find that they do not cover a question you’d like answered, do try to ask it during a question & answer period (as long as it’s on topic!).
Network! Many (virtual) conferences now hold sessions just for networking, and this can allow for the opportunity to meet future collaborators.
...but don’t just network! Conferences may seem like an arena for professionals only, but they are a great opportunity to meet people of all ages who share the same interests as you. You may end up meeting future collaborators just by being open to new acquaintances!
Finally: changes in one field can be driven by changes in another, so keep your options and interests open as connections can be made anywhere! If possible, make the effort to attend conferences or virtual events that you find interesting, even if they don’t relate to your field of work. Inspiration can strike anywhere!
Notes about inclusivity (especially for future conference planners)
The increase in virtual conferences has meant a win for inclusion due to many factors, as this often means price reductions for attendees and the ability to enjoy proceedings from the conference of your home (a must for individuals like myself, with pain disorders and physical disabilities). The fact that many larger organizations and corporations were able to quickly switch to virtual events during the pandemic has meant this is a matter of will, and to not include a virtual option for future events would be exclusionary.
Providing closed captions for the hearing impaired and those with other disabilities is a must. Zoom provides closed captions, as does YouTube, and many others also exist at different price points. Having a sign-language interpreter for live sessions is also another inclusive option.
While not all conferences can be free, for conferences to be truly inclusive, lower-cost options should exist for low-income individuals. The distribution of free tickets to such individuals should also be considered; think about funding a number of free tickets.
If you’re a potential conference attendee or speaker and require any accommodations, do contact the event organizers ahead of time to make sure your needs will be met. To event organizers: ask your attendees, speakers, and even your fellow organizers well ahead of your event if they have any accommodations that must be met! Including this question on your registration form will save you a lot of time, worry, and frustration.