Better Education Conference (2021 Edition)

I answered the phone. Darek Andrzejewski had called:

– Maciej, as every year I want to invite you to Września. Will you come? You know – this year we have to do it all somehow differently.

– Sure, Darek. I am happy to return as an event host in September. I know that this year people will not be physically in the room. But you will see. We will do it and it will be a success.

We started talking about the conference scheduled for March in November. And it’s no coincidence that I mention this because if you want your event to be successful, you must invite everyone involved to get talking from an early stage. Thanks to this, Darek calmly told me about the changed format of the dialogues and I could advise him that we should not invite as many speakers as in the years when it had been an in-person conference. Because it is easier to “sit” in the room for 6 hours, when there are coffee breaks, dinner breaks and interactions with others and a chance to talk to the speaker. But it’s different during an online event – with each passing hour it is gets difficult to keep the viewer’s attention.

I also had some ideas for Darek when it came to inviting speakers. The previous year I had recommended Professor Henryk Mruk, a great speaker, and this year I suggested inviting Canadian Giancarlo Brotto again. I also assured a lively audience participation because I myself would have a tablet in my hand throughout the conference. Why? Because why not?

Why should we be afraid of authentic, open conversations with the audience of our event? The positives are too many for a couple of possible cons. Online events especially prove how open you are to communicating with the event participants. As the video above shows, and above all the comments of the participants of Better Education, the chat has expanded their experience with the conference. And the fact that the conference did not take place “next to” these conversations, but in response to them, gave the whole thing an additional value.

“It is strange to think that if it weren’t for technology, our conference could not take place at the moment. Connecting with speakers, but also the broadcast on YouTube itself, no longer requires too much money. Once upon a time it would be necessary to have a TV studio for hundreds of thousands of zlotys. During the conference, despite the potential of some upsets, everything was successful” – concluded Darek Andrzejewski, conference organizer.