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ConfTech: From onsite to online meetings

Digest

Explore our latest ConfTech digest and newsletter archive

Manuals

‘How to’ and guidelines through various meeting platforms

Platforms & tools

Overview of conferencing platforms and tools

Meetings are at the core of human interaction, governance, and diplomatic practice. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of technology to organise meetings online. A hybrid format, which combines face-to-face with online meetings, is emerging.

ConfTech’s activities are centred around five pillars – technology, security, moderation, behaviour, diplomacy – as analysed during Diplo’s landmark conference on ‘Future of Meetings‘.

ConfTech achieves its mission through five areas of work:

Training
ConfTech lab
Help Desk
Platforms & tools
Research

Contributions from Switzerland and Finland, and operational support by the Ford Foundation, helped make the ConfTech a reality. Get in touch with us at conftech@diplomacy.edu

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Help Desk

COVID-19 has forced the world to shift to a digital way of working and meeting, creating a new normal, which is likely here to stay. While some have managed to adapt easily, others need a helping hand to adapt to online meetings and conferences and select the right approach and tools.

The Help Desk provides immediate advice to help countries and organisations identify solutions and make quick decisions on how to organise and run online meetings and events. The Help desk also helps meeting organisers identify and manage unknown unknowns.

There are two ways to access the Help Desk:

Consult our FAQ page available here. If your query is not included in our FAQ page, please send us a message by clicking on the chat icon on the bottom right-hand corner and one of our representatives will get back to you shortly.
Alternatively, send us an e-mail at conftech@diplomacy.edu with your query.

Meeting organisers who are pressed for time can outsource their meeting or event to ConfTech for tailored hands-on assistance. ConfTech can help the meeting organisers in the following activities:

In the previous months, ConfTech has assisted its partners in organising numerous events, such as SEEDIG 6, RegHorizon AI Policy Conference, Youth IGF Turkey, to name a few.

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ConfTech Lab in Geneva

The ConfTech Lab in Geneva was launched in October 2020 with the aim of developing innovative ways of hosting and moderating online and hybrid events. It uses the latest technology to bridge the gap between onsite and online and increase the quality of meetings and conferences. A similar ConfTech lab in Belgrade was launched in January 2021.

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The message mentions various elements related to interior design and technology, including furniture, electronics, and plants.

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Training

Online meetings and conferences have become a necessity for most organisations. In our four-week highly interactive and practice-based course, participants learned how to plan, manage, and run successful online events – from choosing and using an appropriate technical platform, and planning the entire process from the initial idea to follow up, to effectively moderating interaction in an online environment.

This course was timely especially with the ongoing global shift from onsite to online blended meetings. I was particularly impressed by the use of group moderation exercises that allowed the participants to gain practical skills in running and moderating online meetings and events. Skills gained through the course are very relevant to my career as a diplomat as I adopt the new future of online meetings.

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Nancy Diana WanjikuForeign Service Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kenya (November 2020)

I found this course to be highly relevant to anyone involved in online organising, chairing and moderating online meetings. Furthermore, student engagement and collaboration was great and understand the value of different online tools when it comes to organising online meetings and conferences. The instructors were experts who explained the concept with easy to understand and clear instructions. I highly recommended this course

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Daniel Khauka NanghakaChair, Outreach and Engagement S/C ICANN At-Large; Executive Director, ILICIT Africa (November 2020)

The course opened my eyes to the right approach to online event organization and will be very beneficial in the future events we are organizing!

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Sanja FabrioRegHorizon LLC, Co-founder and Managing Director (July 2020)

Congratulations to Diplo for a well-conducted and moderated course, which has opened so many possibilities, including for capacity building in conducting digital meetings.

Asoke MukerjiRetired, Indian diplomat, Ambassador, former Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, New York (July 2020)

This course perfectly responded to a know-how gap many of us experienced while abruptly transitioning from physical to online meetings in international Geneva. With all of our diplomatic meetings moved online, it has been great to compare different web conferencing platforms, to choose the one that best fits the needs of our meetings. I loved the hands-on approach of the course, which provided step-by-step guides on preparing and running online meetings as well as opportunities for students to test the features of different platforms and even moderate online discussions.

Charline Van Der BeekEconomic Affairs, Development Cooperation, Environment and Internet Governance Attachée, Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations in Geneva (May 2020)

The course was very well designed, relevant to current times, and most importantly, easy to digest and apply. After the 5-week course, my level of awareness and confidence on how to effectively conduct and attend online meetings improved significantly. From planning, technical, and social aspects for online meetings to tips and tricks for effective moderation, I gained a great deal of new knowledge – applicable for both my professional and personal engagements.

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Selly MuzammilRegional Government Partnerships, World Food Programme Regional Bureau for MENA, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, in Cairo (May 2020)

Platforms & tools

Choosing the right platform and tools depends on how small or large your group will be, the level of engagement during the meeting or event, the duration of each meeting, and the regularity.

Think also about the technical expertise of your group, and the skills needed to use the platform. Will you use multimedia during the meeting? Will your participants connect also through mobile devices? What is the cost you are willing to pay? To help you choose the right option for your needs, we’ve reviewed some of the leading online platforms. Click here to explore our comparative analysis of major online meeting and conferencing platforms.

Conftech Digest

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Posts per page:

Previous issues of the Conftech Digest:

ConfTech Digest #20, November

Published on December 14, 2022

ConfTech Digest #18, August

Published on September 14, 2022

ConfTech Digest #17, July

Published on August 11, 2022

ConfTech Digest #16, June

Published on July 11, 2022

ConfTech Digest #15, May

Published on June 13, 2022

ConfTech Digest #14, April

Published on May 16, 2022

ConfTech Digest #13, February

Published on March 10, 2022

ConfTech Digest #12, January

Published on February 11, 2022

ConfTech Digest #11, November

Published on December 9, 2021

ConfTech Digest #10, October

Published on November 9, 2021

ConfTech Digest #9, September

Published on October 11, 2021

ConfTech Digest #8, August

Published on September 9, 2021

ConfTech Digest #7, July

Published on August 3, 2021

ConfTech Digest #6, June

Published on July 5, 2021

ConfTech Digest #5, May

Published on June 2, 2021

ConfTech Digest #4, April

Published on May 7, 2021

ConfTech Digest #3, March

Published on April 5, 2021

ConfTech Digest #2, February

Published on March 5, 2021

ConfTech Digest #1, January

Published February 2, 2021

Research

ConfTech helps meeting organisers develop, conduct or moderate online meetings and conferences successfully by developing related guides and manuals.

Check below to access a set of platform guides, do’s and don’t for hosts and moderators and many other tips and tricks for effective video conferencing.

GUIDELINES HOW-TO

[GUIDE] How to set up your online conferencing presentation

This tutorial will help you set up the scene, lighting, camera, and audio in your home office or studio environment for the optimal videoconference experience.... Read more...

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[GUIDE] Who should be on your organising team?

Human resources is a common issue among event organisers. The size of your organising team depends on the size of your event (and your budget). ... Read more...

[GUIDE] Livestreaming on social media platforms

The number of social media users has increased exponentially. By livestreaming your meeting on social media, you can scale your outreach.... Read more...

[GUIDE] An in-depth survey of online meeting platforms

Your starting point to choosing the right platform is: how many people will connect to my meeting or event? Or how much will I have to pay for my monthly subscription? If you're organising several meetings, or in charge of your organisation's events, you might cons... Read more...

[GUIDE] Turn that background off… or on

Context is the main victim in online events. With your light-hearted hat on, watch the 'incidents' captured on video. Plus, follow our tips for an incident-free appearance.... Read more...

[HOW-TO] How to use GoBrunch for hosting an event

GoBrunch is a platform for webinars and meetings, which creates a positive engagement among participants. It is very easy to use, it only takes a few minutes to create your room.... Read more...

[HOW-TO] How to use Airmeet for hosting an event

Airmeet is a versatile virtual networking and video conferencing platform suitable for various events, including informal gatherings, panel discussions, and workshops.... Read more...

[HOW-TO] How to use SpatialChat for hosting an event

SpatialChat is a virtual space where people can meet and talk about different topics. The experience is similar to Zoom breakout rooms, but SpatialChat might be an easier solution for online social events since it allows participants to move freely between groups or fo... Read more...

[HOW-TO]: Enabling closed caption on your Zoom account

One of the popular Zoom tools is auto-generated captions. From now on, all Zoom Meetings accounts have access to them, the free and the licensed ones.... Read more...

[HOW-TO] How to use the Mentimeter app in Zoom

Mentimeter has recently become available in the Zoom Marketplace, making it easier to use during online meetings. Mentimeter is an online voting tool that enables more effective and interactive meetings. You can use this powerful combination of Zoom and Mentimeter toge... Read more...