6pm on Monday 23rd January 2006 at Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 13/29 Nicholson Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9FT (8 minutes walk from Waverley Station)
(PowerPoint) - "Making conferences work for you"
- Tessa Darley, NHS Scotland
The first meeting of the Scottish Information Network in 2006 considers how we can make the most of the effort devoted to organising and attending conferences.
What's the best way to chair a seminar session?
Is staying up all night socialising with sales reps (and missing the morning plenary session the next day) legitimate conference delegate behaviour?
Given the option of parallel conference sessions, as a conference delegate should you opt for the one that is highly relevant to your current role (work is paying for your attendance after all) or head off to something that sounds far more interesting?
Which techniques can be deployed by a conference organiser to encourage opportunities for new knowledge creation at a high level event?
How do you manage a set of sponsors for a seminar?
Our three speakers will consider the value of conference participation by considering the aims of bringing people together at such gatherings, the techniques for doing so, and delegate behaviours.
Alex Thomson, of SCVO, will talk about how to make the most out of conferences from an organiser's perspective. He will draw on his experiences of co-ordinating and managing a number of events, including "The Gathering" which annually attracts over 4500 participants from the voluntary sector. Alex has kindly agreed to distribute free copies of his publication Organising an event to SIN members at the meeting.
Based on the findings of empirical work completed with the delegates and organisers of the annual Online conference, Tessa Darley of NHS Scotland, will outline strategies that delegates can use to ensure the best use of time spent away from the office at professional events. Her research uncovers a number of tactics that can be adopted to maximise both personal and organisational value, particularly at conferences where a range of parallel sessions and optional activities has the potential to confuse and bewilder even the most disciplined of delegates.
Nigel Oxbrow of TFPL, the sponsor of this SIN event, will chair the session and speak from a range of perspectives: delegate, speaker, chair, organiser, exhibitor and sponsor. He will explain how his own experiences have led TFPL to adopt particular approaches for the events that the firm runs for the information profession, including the annual European Business Information Conference, now in its 16th year to be held 29-31 March in Milan in 2006.
Following the "formal" proceedings there will be a chance to catch up with other participants over drinks, and discuss and put into practice some of the ideas covered by the three speakers on how to realise the opportunities offered at professional gatherings.
If you would like to attend this event, please contact Rhonda McLean by Thursday 19th January 2006. There is no charge for attending this meeting.
