Many conferences tend to leave their participants a bit weary after the (too) many, rather passive sessions. Thanks to Wilfred Rubens (Dutch), I got hold of an enlightening presentation by Jeff Hurt that promotes a different conference approach.
This fits in nicely with the wonderful (and I feel completely correct) analysis by Jay Cross when he looks at reasons why the Gnomedex conference is/was always such a success.
In November 2010 colleagues and I will be organizing the 'Emerging Voices' conference (a conference on public health issues for young researchers mainly from developing countries) that is filled with new approaches (= MC battles to discuss content, speed content dating, and all the basic stuff interactive streaming, social media incorporation...). We hope to push the boundaries of the conference format and get some real informal learning going, also inside the sessions.
We will not only get the conference going, but the format will be shared online.
The above conference will be a test for a nomadic conference idea that has been brewing in my mind lately (still brewing) and that will focus on a technology enhanced learning mix.
One thing is for sure, the guidelines in the presentation of Jeff Hurt are embraced full-heartily:
