Experience of Conferences Organizing in Pandemic Conditions

Abstract

The paper describes the experience of organizing conferences under the constraints due to COVID-19 pandemic. The world experience in organizing virtual conferences both before and during the pandemic period is analyzed. The formats of scientific events are classified and the features of each format are specified. The proposed article provides an analysis of the conferences held in 2020-2021, with an emphasis on the events which were organized and conducted with direct involvement of the authors. The experience covers the work on organizing events using all basic formats. Recommendations are given for organizing conferences in the conditions of restrictions, and the positive features of the acquired experience are analyzed, which can significantly expand the possibilities and effectiveness of scientific events, both in the context of a pandemic and after its end. Using the conferences described in the paper as an example, it is shown that any combination of the following formats is possible: a virtual conference, where each person connects to the event individually; a conference in a mixed format, which combines both individual remoteparticipants and groups of listeners and speakers gathered in a certain room for direct communication;a conference in face-to-face format, which can also be held using telecommunication networks, when groups of participants located in different rooms are connected to a common space of the conference. It is noted that the mixed format surely has the broadest prospects for further development, regardless of the epidemiological situation.