Challenge

The 3rd International Conference on Fatty Liver (ICFL 2022) had to be postponed from February 2022, due to the peak of the Omicron wave. The team wanted to do everything in their power to stage this event and decided to co-locate it with the 3rd World of Microbiome International Conference (WoM 2022), which was set to take place at the end of April. Both events were planned as hybrid meetings, which added an additional element of logistics and planning.

The venue, Austria Centre Vienna, was just reopening after the pandemic, and the renovation that they had initiated during the lockdowns, was still ongoing in parts of the building. This added one more hurdle for the team – how to ensure a smooth and safe experience for two simultaneous audiences, while also streaming all the content to the virtual participants.

Solution

The solution came down to a few simple steps:

Communication and then some more – no matter if something was a part of one person’s responsibility or not, everything was so intertwined that it required the attention of the whole team so that each person would understand their role and that of everyone else in this unique setting
Emotional intelligence – the situation was unprecedented, and it took a toll on many stakeholders, so empathy was vital to build a strong support system, a community sense, so that each function receives the support needed, no matter on which side of the equation they stood
Making sure that the expectations of all parties are aligned – the difficulties and uncertainty around the organisation of the co-located events were extreme, so everyone – from the team to the clients, all the way to the last participant needed to know what to expect, so consistent and open communication was key

Outcomes

The two events were a success – two meetings appreciated by an audience thirsty for face-to-face contact, while giving the possibility to meet online to anyone that could not travel to Vienna, Austria.

The co-location of the events worked for a few different reasons:

Both event brands are Kenes Group Original Events, thus allowing all decision-making to be done quickly in-house
The events are in close scientific areas, which allowed for shared exhibition space
The team is very knowledgeable in organising hybrid events
The virtual element of both conferences was created on the Kenes Group-owned platform, VirtuOz
The team was versatile and flexible, allowing them to be creative and to find quick solutions at the moment, all acting as one, no matter their clear roles and responsibilities
Belief and understanding that it was all possible!

ICFL in numbers:

258 participants: 211 on-site & 47 virtual
36 represented countries
35+ speakers and oral presenters
8 supporters & exhibitors
55 posters
68 e-Posters
Industry supported session

WoM in numbers:

529 participants: 401 on-site & 128 virtual
3 parallel zones – Pregnancy, Birth & Infancy; Digestive & Metabolic Health; Oral
48 represented countries
50+ speakers and oral presenters
15 supporters & exhibitors
109 posters
129 e-Posters
Industry supported session
Product theatre presentations

Delegate feedback on ICFL:

In-person delegates:

“I liked the professionalism of presentations, the clinical topics, the venue and organisation.”
“Excellent organisation of the virtual platform. Genuine and scientific discussions. Keynote addresses especially those Dr Quentin and Dr Sanyal were quite impressive.”

Virtual delegates:

“I could ask questions and they got answered as prompt as that could be in a real meeting.“
“Peoples feature where we can connect with other poster presenters online.“

Delegate feedback on WoM:

In-person delegates:

“The organization was great! The chair committee was very professional and friendly.“
“The three different zones made it possible to listen to a variety of different topics, which I very much enjoyed.“

Virtual delegates:

“The virtual platform was interactive and simple to use!”
“I like the E-poster feature. It gave me the opportunity to go through other peoples’ posters, which improved the experience of attending virtually.“

Julieta Trifonova, Account Manager Original Events:

“To create a hybrid event is challenging by itself but to create two parallel hybrid events with one team is beyond challenging! Looking back now I may say that we faced many difficulties and stressful moments but, in the end, this whole experience was quite rewarding and fulfilling as we did challenge ourselves and made it happen with the same excellence and professionalism as if it was one single event! The recipe for doing extraordinary work is not in defining the right process or logistics – it is in having the right team with the right people on board. Are we going to do this again – I cannot tell for sure. But what I am sure of is that the Original Events team is capable of doing it and capable of pushing our limits to new heights!”

Robert John Nesbitt, CMP, DES Account Manager Original Events:

“Kenes Group with its extensive experience with both virtual and hybrid events over the course of the past 2 years gave us the confidence that if something is technically possible, however challenging, we deliver no matter. An international team is crucial to be able to adapt to the different communication styles required in such an environment as well as the need to be able to adjust our benchmark to what we can expect given the unique circumstances. Confidence in your teammates and diplomacy will also see you through to an acceptable outcome.”

World of Microbiome 2022 Photo Gallery: https://microbiome.kenes.com/photo-gallery-wom-2022/

International Conference on Fatty Liver 2022 Photo Gallery: https://icfl.kenes.com/photo-gallery/

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Mission Possible – One Team, Two Co-Located Hybrid Kenes Original Events