One Attempt at Building an Inclusive & Accessible Hybrid Astronomy Conference: FRB 2025

TL;DR

The paper describes the organization and outcomes of FRB 2025, a hybrid conference designed to be inclusive and accessible, demonstrating that such events are feasible within modest budgets and can effectively engage diverse participants.

Contribution

This work presents a practical model for inclusive, hybrid scientific conferences with specific strategies and positive feedback, advancing accessibility in academic gatherings.

Findings

High online engagement and positive feedback from virtual participants

Effective implementation of low-cost hybrid conference strategies

Identified challenges and areas for improvement in accessible conference organization

Abstract

The rapid expansion of the Fast Radio Burst (FRB) field has been accompanied by a simultaneous growth of FRB conferences. While these meetings are essential for interacting with other researchers and establishing collaborations, many remain only accessible to those with substantial travel funding, flexible schedules, or geographical proximity. This introduces barriers that predominantly affect early career researchers (ECRs) and people from under-resourced regions, limiting the growth, diversity, and sustainability of the community. To address these issues, the FRB 2025 conference, held in Montr\'eal in July 2025 with over 200 participants, was designed to prioritize inclusivity and accessibility alongside scientific excellence. In this work, we describe how we implemented these goals, including: organizing committees spearheaded by ECRs, a fully hybrid format including YouTube livestreams, low registration fees, a pedagogical day at the beginning of the conference, local vegetarian catering, and the implementation of flash-talks instead of posters. From a post-conference survey of participants, we were able to assess the effectiveness of our initiatives. Notably, we received very positive feedback from the online participants, which amounted to roughly half of the attendees, especially regarding the livestreams and talk recordings. The pedagogical day was also greatly appreciated. The low registration fees naturally led to challenges, in particular with the audio-visual management, and although areas for improvement were noted, such as poster sessions and support for attendees requiring visas, the conference was generally viewed as a success. Our experience demonstrates that highly accessible, hybrid conferences are possible within modest budgets ($\$20$k CAD), and we outline recommendations for future conferences, both in the FRB field and in other domains.