The magnitude of the Corona crisis took us all by surprise. Shops were closed down, wherever possible people had to work from home and events got cancelled or postponed. The scientific community was afflicted as well. One of the events affected was the RiConfigure Dialogue Event, that set out to take place at the Institute for Advanced Studies in May. However, faced with restrictions by the Austrian government and a partial lockdown announced in March, the organizational team had to decide: What to do?
Different options were on the table. Cancelling the event altogether was quickly discarded and the team decided to move the dialogue event from the physical to the virtual space. The workshop was reframed as weeklong virtual participatory event and postponed to the beginning of July to give enough time for planning. The main question was how to get people not only to show up (virtually), but to actively engage and interact with one another online. The following five steps were of particular relevance in achieving that goal.
1. Use different tools – but keep it simple!
2. Create an inclusive environment
3. Preparation and testing are key
4. Work towards a goal
5. Go with the flow
For an elaboration of the five steps and the original blogpost click here.