A Practical Guide to Hosting a Virtual Conference

TL;DR

This paper offers practical guidance for organizing successful virtual scientific conferences, highlighting their benefits and providing detailed planning recommendations based on the authors' experience with a specific 8-week event.

Contribution

It presents a comprehensive set of best practices and strategies for hosting effective virtual conferences, filling a gap in practical guidance for organizers.

Findings

Virtual conferences can be highly accessible and cost-effective.

Well-designed virtual events enhance content longevity and reduce environmental impact.

The paper provides actionable recommendations for planning and optimizing virtual meetings.

Abstract

Virtual meetings have long been the outcast of scientific interaction. For many of us, the COVID-19 pandemic has only strengthened that sentiment as countless Zoom meetings have left us bored and exhausted. But remote conferences do not have to be negative experiences. If well designed, they have some distinct advantages over conventional in-person meetings, including universal access, longevity of content, as well as minimal costs and carbon footprint. This article details our experiences as organizers of a successful fully virtual scientific conference, the KITP program "Fundamentals of Gaseous Halos" hosted over 8 weeks in winter 2021. Herein, we provide detailed recommendations on planning and optimization of remote meetings, with application to traditional in-person events as well. We hope these suggestions will assist organizers of future virtual conferences and workshops.