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Joy in the Present
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15 January 2001

Hybrid International Meetings for Participants on the Move

From Face-to-Face to Virtual Interaction

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A version of this document appeared in the Congrex Annual Review (2000)

Extremes

There is widespread familiarity with what might be termed “conventional international meetings”, namely those in which the emphasis is on face-to-face interaction. These have long been supplemented by use of well-known communications devices for the speakers – such as microphones, and projectors. The only communications technology used by participants may then be earphones for interpretation.

At the other extreme, and beyond the focus of the conventional meetings industry, there has been an explosion of “virtual international meetings” over the past decade. These involve no face-to-face interaction. Such meetings tend to be an extension of bulletin boards, listservers and usegroups, dating back to the 1970s. The interactions are increasingly facilitated by sophisticated software packages.

It is now increasingly the case that participants at conventional face-to-face meetings will initiate communications before the event electronically, and will follow-up the event by further electronic communications. Indeed many meetings now depend on electronic communications for their organization. Similarly, participants in virtual meetings may choose to gather for face-to-face encounters at some stage – although this tends to take the form of one-on-one encounters rather than gatherings as groups of any significant number.

Future hybrid gatherings

Some degree of “hybridization” has emerged. Many conference centres now have electronic communication facilities for use by participants – just as they had telephone facilities before that. Message monitors are increasingly available to inform participants in lobbies of changes of venue, for example. Participants with laptops may even be able to use internet access points in public areas. A number of conferences make significant use of satellite conferencing facilities to ensure participation of distinguished speakers. This may even extend to panel sessions in video-conferencing mode.

For some, this degree of hybridization has already gone even further. In scientific meetings it is quite usual to present the total programme on the internet as it develops – both before the event and through “work stations” at the actual venue. This allows participants to plan their time on-site effectively. These work stations may either be dispersed at various points of the venue (computer and printer) or as an “electronic centre” free of charge. Often, the internet based programme information is “coupled” with an internal messaging service allowing changes to be disseminated in a more effective way. These “centra” also serve as a meeting point for delegates in order to net-work

New technologies are now forcing the pace of hybridization. One of, the most evident (but perhaps not generally thought about) is the exploding use of the portable telephone – whether as a phone or for simple messaging. New variants now available are dedicated to the sending of longer messages by phone and may therefore soon become standard equipemùent for every participant (perhaps issued on loan like earphones). These allow the participant in a conference to communicate both with other participants at the same event as well as with others absent from the event. This can have several consequences:

  • In governmental meetings, within any delegation of participants, the more junior may be given the task of remaining in a session in order to communicate any significant development periodically to more senior persons outside (or elsewhere). Instructions concerning the nature of any intervention to be made can be passed to the junior – without necessarily requiring the presence of the senior representatives. In scientific meetings on the other hand, the junior participants may only be able to participate online through the internet because of budgetary restrictions. Possible ways of achieving this in a simple and secure technical environment is sought by many organisers.

  • Participants may communicate with each other during a session, on the topic or on other topics, and may possibly choose to leave the session to pursue those discussions face-to-face

  • A larger delegation may be considered unnecessary if key interactions can be handled electronically (from the home office) and then instructions communicated to the person in the face-to-face session (this is already happening to some extent – main reasons given today within the scientific world: budget and time restrictions)

  • Considerable use may be made of the messaging facility on such devices

  • These devices (WAP telephones or communicators) are already being used discretely by participants, and even speakers, during traditional “sessions”. If a speaker is not interesting enough, or what is said is not of full value to a participant, the person may today choose to make use of the time by, for example:
    • contacting colleagues who are also present (eg to plan to meet outside the session, to envisage alternative interventions, or to engage in other business);
    • check/send/answer emails;
    • checkout restaurants, plan tourism
    • follow news broadcasts or
    • seek recreation (games, music, or possible TV features)

The pattern is evident for many who make use of “empty time” -- like making an important call while waiting at a red traffic light etc. For the organizer and the participant a key question is whether such activity furthers the purpose of the meeting -- or undermines and devalues such participation. In the first case this will encourage attendance at such events in the future, but in the second it will lead to decisions not to participate in such events in future. It will become very important for organizers to establish the credibility and advantages of the communication opportunity they offer – not just in hardware terms but in terms of how the communication dynamics work to advance the agendas of all those present. This will probably lead to the emergence of a new type of conference skill – people who enable serendipitous communication using whatever technology is appropriate. Organizers will have to take care that they themselves do not develop a reputation for seeking to “lock in” participants – as some manufacturers of hardware and software have been known to do with purchasers of their products.

It will be young people using internet-enabled (eg WAP) devices that will rapidly explore an even wider range of possibilities. The recognized effects of such devices on student interactions is already an indictor. As their style starts to permeate meeting organization, they may dramatically change conference dynamics. At first this will only be evident amongst the younger people acting independently at conferences, but progressively their style may take over as its comparative advantages become apparent.

The traditional “form” or structure of a face-to-face meeting must take these possibilities into account for the future. The patience of the attendees might no longer be as evident or as polite as in the past – maybe there will emerge a form of “participant rage” analogous to “passenger rage” in public transportation. Signs of this (especially amongst university students of today) have been noted. Tomorrow’s generation have been brought up in a communication environment and will expect much value for money and time -- if they attend a face to face meeting.

More intriguing will be the way in which participants will be deliberately integrated into a hybrid event, whether they are present or absent, using laptop and other technologies. This will radically shift the nature of meeting organization, whether in terms of the degree of pre-planning of “room allocation” or that of “thematic organization”. It is questionable whether present rigidities will be considered acceptable when participants have a need for spontaneous break-out and break-away sessions in response to collective creativity and emerging challenges.

Of course, the behaviour and expectations of tomorrow’s delegates could very well go another way if the conference organisers take emerging expectations seriously. Conferences could be planned allowing for a higher degree of “break-out” spontaneity from the start etc:

  • Electronic “breakout sessions”, involving absent participants, will arise spontaneously without requiring separate rooms or leaving a plenary session; a participant may be involved simultaneously in several such sessions

  • The centre of gravity of a discussion may shift rapidly from a face-to-face session to a virtual context, depending on the interest of absent participants

  • The economics of conference organization (registration, etc) may be radically modified to include far more virtual (paying) participants, whilst risking loss of face-to-face participants. However, if organizers are attentive to flexibility of programmatic structure, the logistics of networking benefits and relative freeedom to move quickly around session halls, poster halls etc will not reduce face-to-face attendance. The virtual alternative may then be seen as a very positive and productive addition to traditional meeting styles.

  • Spontaneously emergent themes involving new participants may require far more flexible registration procedures. The focus of the event may grow amoebically in response to participant interests rather than in manner that can be constrained by organizer planning.

  • The duration of a conference may be radically extended, possibly in ways that cannot be planned.

  • Eminent potential participants in face-to-face events may decline participation in single events in favour of maintaining virtual involvement (perhaps through “proxies”) in a number of simultaneous events (a combination will be possible, don’t you think? Physical presence in meetings with important net-working possibilities (perhaps as speaker) whilst maintaining simultaneous electronic presence with other similar meetings)

The shift towards hybrid meetings will be accelerated by increasing competition for peoples time, increasing travel hassle, and some strong indications of future constraints on finite fuel resources and the consequent implications for projected future rises in travel costs – despite widespread expectations of a doubling of travellers world wide up to 2010.

Challenges

Dependence on electronic communications will pose some severe challenges (as well as opportunities for those who seek to exploit them):

  • Vulnerability to virus attacks by groups with opposing agendas
  • Electronic surveillance of confidential communications
  • Establishing and maintaining confidence in the security of communications
  • Distinction of conference centres by their hardware and software support teams
  • Disadvantage for less technically sophisticated conference environments
  • Disadvantage for participants with an aversion to virtual communication technology

References

Future operation of international organizations within an electronic environment (http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs/electron.php)

Electronic context of future international meetings (http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs90s/96elec.php)

Challenge of cyber-parliaments and statutory virtual assemblies (http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs/cyberass.php)

Spherical configuration of interlocking roundtables: electronic enhancement of global self-organization through dialogue patterns (http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs/interlok.php)

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