The pandemic push: can COVID-19 reinvent conferences to models rooted in sustainability, equitability and inclusion?

Shaili Johri,Holly J. Niner,Sophia N. Wassermann,Judith Meyer

doi:10.1007/s42532-020-00059-y

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates a change in conference formats for 2020. This shift offers a unique opportunity to address long-standing inequities in access and issues of sustainability associated with traditional conference formats, through testing online platforms. However, moving online is not a panacea for all of these concerns, particularly those arising from uneven distribution of access to the Internet and other technology. With conferences and events being forced to move online, this is a critical juncture to examine how online formats can be used to best effect and to reduce the inequities of in-person meetings. In this article, we highlight that a thoughtful and equitable move to online formats could vastly strengthen the global socio-ecological research community and foster cohesive and effective collaborations, with ecology and society being the ultimate beneficiaries.

Highlights

The forcing hand of COVID-19 has opened an opportunity to trial online formats and to reinvent conferences as a core institution of research and practice
A global rise in community goodwill and flexibility in response to the challenges of ‘lockdown’ (Morgan 2020) provides an opportunity to address some of the long-term ethical quandaries that relate to both sustainability and accessibility (Ford et al 2018; Arend and Bruijns 2019; Timperley et al 2020) posed by traditional conference formats
The potential to address long-standing inequities in the socio-ecological community through online conferences is a bright spot in the post-COVID-19 landscape

Summary

A window of opportunity

International conferences are valued as important for the development of both researchers and knowledge (Fraser et al 2017, p. 540; Timperley et al 2020, pp. 11–12). International conferences are valued as important for the development of both researchers and knowledge The traditional conference model that brings delegates. The forcing hand of COVID-19 has opened an opportunity to trial online formats and to reinvent conferences as a core institution of research and practice. A global rise in community goodwill and flexibility in response to the challenges of ‘lockdown’ (Morgan 2020) provides an opportunity to address some of the long-term ethical quandaries that relate to both sustainability and accessibility (Ford et al 2018; Arend and Bruijns 2019; Timperley et al 2020) posed by traditional conference formats

Inequities of in‐person conferences

Inequities of online conferences

Supporting an equitable online future

Findings

Conclusions