Designing inclusive events

Running a successful hybrid event is not easy and there are many challenges. We have collected a few general recommendations that can help you in having a successful event:

• Recognise that while the experiences of on-site and online participants can be different, on-site and online participants are all equally contributing to the convening/event and every effort has to be made by all the team to make this as inclusive as possible.
• Event planning must be fully inclusive of both groups of participants, and you must dedicate particular care to the effective inclusion of the smaller participant group(s), be it the online and distributed group or the on-site group(s).
• You need to design hybrid plenaries and working groups in a way that everyone is able to meet and work together, regardless of how they are participating.
• You must recognise the importance of time and plan for a pace that allows all participants to absorb conversations and process information. Allow for spaces and breaks for everyone to rest and recover.
• Recognise the important role of technology and how you are dependent on it for hybrid events. But also consider all the limitations of technology. When tech fails, take a deep breath and move on. Glitches happen; don’t stay stuck in them. Have a plan ready if connectivity fails and the two components become disconnected.
• Recognise the onset of fatigue, especially for the team members engaging in a multiplicity of roles such as tech support, moderation and facilitation, documentation and note taking.
• Recognise the specificity of online fatigue and design the duration of the meeting in a way that is respectful and caring for online participants.

Be ready for potential issues

When connectivity is involved, you cannot be 100% sure that all will work perfectly. Therefore, it is good to be ready to react in case something doesn't go as planned.

• Have a communication channel for everyone participating in the organisation of the event, to rapidly be aware of issues and coordinate responses.
• Have a detailed event agenda with timings, so everyone knows what is happening and when they need to intervene.
• Have a plan ready in case the connectivity cuts in the middle of the sessions, so that remote participants and on-site participants can continue their work.
• Have alternative internet connection methods, even if at a lower bandwidth (e.g. 4G mobile phone access).
• Have extra people able to take over in case the remote facilitator has an issue. 
• Have copies of all presentations and work materials ready for remote and on-site participants.