ORGANISING A CONFERENCE

Organising a conference falls under three categories:

A] PRE-CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES

B] CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES

C] POST-CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES

A] PRE-CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES:  

1) Planning- The organisers should plan early. They should make sure that the conference is really necessary. The planning should be started a year in advance so that the participants get plenty of time to make travel plans. The earlier planning makes things easy for both the organisers and the participants.

2) Purpose- To organise a conference the purpose should be clear. The other planning, arrangements, participants and experts are to be arranged to meet the purpose of the conference.

3) Budget and Financial Support- While arranging the conference, tentative expenses should be taken into consideration. These expenses can be met from the registration charges, sponsors or the provision in the budget of an organisation.

4) Facilities to be Given- In the consideration of budget and expenses the organiser should clearly decide the facilities to be given during the conference to the participants and experts. It will help in actual planning and working out the budget.

5) Theme: The theme is a central idea around which all the activities during the conference are arranged. The theme of the conference should be in accordance to the need and purpose of the conference. It should not be too long or too short. It should give clear idea about the probable discussions during the conference.

6) Date and Time- An appropriate date, time and duration of the conference should be selected. While finalising dates, leave enough time for organising and making arrangements needed for conference and the attendees. While deciding the dates the availability of venues, halls also need to be considered.

7) Venue- The selection of venue for the conference should be made carefully. It should not be too far from the central place like railway station, airport, city etc. or in central place, as it may create disturbance during the conference. The capacity of the hall also needs to be considered in relation to the number of expected attendees. The hall should have sufficient facilities and infrastructure required for the arrangement of electronic and other equipments. The lights, ventilations and other physical necessities need to be considered before finalising the hall.

8) Brochure- A suitable brochure should be prepared with all details. The brochures should be posted or mailed to the delegates at the earliest, so they can plan further arrangements.

9) Making Arrangements- After replies are received, prepare a list of participants. Also make a list of the resource persons, guests along with their arrival date, time and mode of arrival. Accordingly, make arrangements for their transport, reception, board and lodging etc.

B] CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES

1) On the day of conference, the participants should be properly welcomed, registered and guided to the conference place.

2)  Some participants might be visiting the place for the first time. They should be made feel comfortable.

3) Name badges, conference kit, programme schedule, writing material etc. should be properly handed over to the participants.

4) To meet the maximum out come out of the conference, time management is important. So the sessions should be arranged taking into consideration the breaks and speakers available.

5) A feedback form needs to be filled up from the participants to find out to what extent the objectives of the conference are achieved. It may prove helpful in future planning or organisation.

6) The certificate of participants and appreciation must be given at the end of conference.

#SESSIONS AND SPEECHES AT A CONFERENCE:

A)    Inaugurate Session: The conference is inaugurated by the invited chief guest. A vote of thanks is proposed at the end of the session.

The following speeches are done in Inaugural session:

1)      Welcome Speech- A convener gives a welcome speech. It includes the need and purpose for organising the conference, expectations from the participants and introduction to the various aspects of the conference.

2)      Keynote Speech- Keynote speech is the soul of any conference. A keynote speaker is usually a notable personality, an expert or an authority in the particular subject or field. It sets the tone for the entire conference. The keynote speaker discusses different insights, thoughts, aspects, facts and possibilities on the theme and subject of the conference.

B)    Plannery Session: During the plannery session, speakers, experts, authorities share their views. It is an intellectual feast to the participants.

C)    Technical Session: In technical session participants give presentation. The chairperson is invited to take charge of the proceedings. He introduces the presenters, sets a time limit for their presentation, invites questions from the participants and provides insights into their presentations either at the end of each paper or at the end of the session.

D)    Valedictory Session: Valedictory is the last session in conference schedule. In this session another invited chief guest brings the proceedings of the conference to a formal end. The convener of the conference reads the conference report about the happenings of the day. Some of the participants are called to give feedback about the conference. With the vote of thanks, conference is declared to be over.

    C] POST-CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES

1)      Analysis of Feedback- The feedback forms and the feedback verbally given at valedictory session should be analysed to understand the strong points and shortcomings of the conference.

2)      Thank You Letters/E-mails- Thanks giving letters or e-mails should be sent to all the participants for presenting their intellectual ideas, research and discussion and for giving their time to attend the conference.

3)       Deliberation on the Outcome of Conference- After the conference is over, the conference committee should meet and discuss the outcome of the conference taking into consideration the objectives of the conference.  

4)      Building Strong Network between Professionals- Conference is a medium through which a number of like-minded professionals come together. The convener of the conference should maintain contact with all the participants to build a strong network so that a lot of interesting facts can be shared and academic discussions on important issues can be conducted.

5)      Action Plan for the Future- After drawing conclusion from the analysis, the solutions got from the conference should be implemented. Further research should started on the areas discussed in the conference.