Recommendations for designing hybrid conferences

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many smaller conferences have moved entirely online and larger ones are being held as hybrid events. Even beyond the pandemic, hybrid events reduce the carbon footprint of conference travel and makes events more accessible to parts of the research community that have difficulty traveling long distances, while preserving most advantages of in-person gatherings. While we have developed a solid understanding of how to design virtual events over the last two years, we are still learning how to properly run hybrid events. We present guidelines and considerations-spanning technology, organization and social factors-for organizing successful hybrid conferences. This paper summarizes and extends the discussions held at the Dagstuhl seminar on "Climate Friendly Internet Research" held in July 2021.