As the meetings and events industry evolves at a rapid clip, staying up to date with the changes is less daunting when you have trailblazers leading the way. Whether it be through providing resources for ensuring inclusivity, educating colleagues on the importance of accessibility or planning events that push the envelope, it’s because of these individuals that the industry constantly grows. Congratulations to the Meetings Trendsetters class of 2023!
Some conferences will convene partially in-person this year as “hybrid” meetings.
PHOTO: ISTOCK.COM/MIODRAG IGNJATOVIC
Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic upended the conference experience for researchers around the globe as scientific societies canceled in-person meetings and scrambled to hold virtual events in their place with varying success. Now, as vaccines become more widely available, particularly in the United States, some of those societies are grappling with a new challenge: when and how to safely get conference attendees into the same room again while maintaining the accessibility and wide reach virtual meetings afford.
Many are opting to stay virtual. But this summer and fall, a handful of U.S. societies are taking the plunge and planning “hybrid” meetings, which will convene in a physical location and also allow for virtual participation. It s a significant undertaking, often involving two separate planning teams and greater expense and the risk that virtual atte
‘Hybrid’ scientific conferences aim to offer the best of in-person and virtual meetings
May. 12, 2021 , 12:50 PM
Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic upended the conference experience for researchers around the globe as scientific societies canceled in-person meetings and scrambled to hold virtual events in their place with varying success. Now, as vaccines become more widely available, particularly in the United States, some of those societies are grappling with a new challenge: when and how to safely get conference attendees into the same room again while maintaining the accessibility and wide reach virtual meetings afford.
Many are opting to stay virtual. But this summer and fall, a handful of U.S. societies are taking the plunge and planning “hybrid” meetings, which will convene in a physical location and also allow for virtual participation. It s a significant undertaking, often involving two separate planning teams and greater expense and the risk that virtual attendees