The need for change One of the many great things about being a developmental biologist is our strong sense of community. Conferences of all shapes and sizes reinforce these bonds between us and yet, even before the pandemic, scientists were becoming increasingly reluctant to travel to conferences due to concerns about climate change:'Don't think I will travel to conferences as delegate again. Cutting down as speaker a lot.'Prof. Michael Stumpf (@theosysbio). Twitter; December 2019.Younger scientists in particular expressed concerns about the environmental impact of their travel, but also worried about how not travelling might affect their career:'I know many senior scientists who are reducing attendance, but for someone like me without that recognition, how do I get my name out there without physically attending? Would love other options!' Dr Louise Stephen (@ciliaNcilia). Twitter; December 2019.Concerns about the changing climate were not the only problem. Traditional conference models also tend to exclude people with caring duties and those who can't travel due to lack of funding or difficulties obtaining visas (Sarabipour, 2020;Sarabipour et al., 2021). As we approached 2020, it became increasingly clear that things needed to change.Then came the pandemic. We got used to connecting with people, sharing and discussing data, and even socialising and networking, all through a computer screen. For many people, the online format has brought benefits even beyond the improvements in sustainability and accessibility:'For the first time, I actually mustered up the courage to ask a question in a talk at ISSCR! The chat is helpful for introverts like me.'