Carbon-free conferencing in the age of COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a crash course for many in working from home using various online tools, many of which can be used to organize e-conferences. An e-conference is a fully online event with multiple sessions and virtual discussion in one platform. In this paper, we aim to provide insights in and present key steps to organize a successful e-conference, increase our understanding of the impact of e-conferences, and identify key strengths, weaknesses, and success factors. Based on a participant survey and our own experience, we found that e-conferences are relatively easy to organize with readily-available and free tools, that they are more accessible and thus inclusive than physical meetings, and that they are virtually carbon-free which can contribute to large emission savings. Three important success factors are attracting a good set of speakers, building an interested audience, and reaching your objectives and desired impact. A successful e-conference can enable joint learning among speakers and participants, and allows novel ways of disseminating scientific knowledge while also enabling networking for the many participants who might not be able to attend an in-person event.

Integration of virtual platforms for enhanced conference experience: Data-based evidence from the Society of Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies 2021 conference

“…Attendees had opportunities to engage in conversation and form connections with other participants within the virtual conference platform using designated networking events, 24/7 available networking rooms, private chat function, chat features during sessions, poster sessions with live video, and Q&A rooms after sessions. Virtual conferences during the COVID-19 pandemic devised different ways to incorporate networking in order to create some semblance of in-person conferences ( Veldhuizen et al, 2020 ; Bhargava et al, 2021 ; Zaver et al, 2021 ; Kim et al, 2022 ). There were conferences that described similar functions to the SIPS Conference virtual platform including private chat functions and chat feature during sessions ( Holman et al, 2021 ; Ruiz-Barrera et al, 2021 ).…”

“…However, this survey was completed by only 11% of the attendees and did not show the full extent of locations attendees were from. Other conferences that provided a post-conference survey had varying attendee response rates ranging from 16 to 89.7% ( Veldhuizen et al, 2020 ; Chan et al, 2021 ; Holman et al, 2021 ; Karabacak et al, 2021 ; Nelson et al, 2021 ; Stamelou et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2021 ; Kim et al, 2022 ; Vinchenzo et al, 2022 ). This difference could be due to the time lag between the end of the SIPS conference and time the survey was delivered (80 days after the conference).…”

Advancing Conference Experiences: Developing UP Open University’s Novel and Open-Source Virtual Tri-conference Platform

“…While it became essential during the pandemic, people realized its benefits, such as saving costs, being environment-friendly, and making meetings more accessible. As technology improves, virtual conferencing will continue to be a valuable tool for connecting and collaborating even after the pandemic (Veldhuizen et al, 2020).…”

“…While online formats can attract a global audience, engaging hard-to-reach groups like farmers is challenging, requiring targeted outreach to extension workers and NGOs. Finally, the impact of the econference is crucial, and defining desired outcomes early helps measure success through qualitative or quantitative methods (Veldhuizen et al, 2020).…”

Editorial

“…In spite of the disruption, the impacts on investment in agricultural research for development have been limited – research continues albeit with some interruption in field-based activities. Of note, e-conferencing has rapidly expanded providing opportunities for scientists to interact, network and share knowledge (Veldhuizen et al, 2020). Scientists have also taken advantage of additional time to take stock; consolidate research findings; and write papers.…”