There is no doubt that the effects of COVID will be with us for a long time to come. However, there are some positives to take away from the adaptions we have needed to make:
- Opportunities to be paperless at future in person events (reduce risk of transmission).
- Environmental and financial benefits of being online.
- Hybrid models for the future – events should cater for being both in-person and online. What examples if any, do people have of this working well?
- There should be a really good reason for a meeting / event to be face to face now – people will not travel without good reason.
- How to be a network when we can’t network traditionally. LinkedIn groups to allow informal connections (but hard to get going and maintain).
- The ability to take advantage of online platforms to be more inclusive e.g. accessibility for disabled participants / easier for working parents to participate / can host larger numbers / can allow international colleagues to participate.
- Use of QR codes on delegate badges to share their contact details. Use of creating virtual briefcases or apps to download information from exhibits or seminars etc.
- Seminar series will keep working in post-covid world.
- Advantage of reducing costs of virtual events (no food / accommodations pay for!)
- Can reach people from further afield.
- Timezones and travel don’t become an issue anymore.
- Online events and social media information have been booming during the COVID-19 pandemic, raising the standards of quality of information disseminated. Be creative and have a good online presence.
