Setting up the Conference Site - Essay Example

Staging an event s Submitted by s: Introduction In the process of preparing for a conference, ample time should be allocated to the preparation of the site since if this is not done, there will be last minute rushes in trying to get everything ready (Torkildsen, 2005, 475). It is preferable to arrive at the site as early as possible, finish with the preparation of the site and have ample time to relax before the registration begins than getting to the site of the conference late and begin running around to deal with activities like putting up signs when the attendees have already started arriving. Generally, shorter conferences are harder to prepare in terms of the site. If payment has been made for the use of a facility for a day, the organizer might be forced to pay more in order to access the venue the day before in order to set up and prepare. It may also be impossible to get access the day before if the same venue had been booked for a different event, in this kind of setting, it is important to begin early in a frantic and disciplined rush to make sure that everything gets ready on time. Planning a short conference requires a meticulous plan in regard to the manner of accomplishing the site preparation in the available time (Campbell, 2003, p. 17). If the conference that is being planned is to run for several days, the members of the committee that is tasked with organizing the conference should arrive at the venue at least twenty four hours before the conference begins. This allows enough time to finish with the site preparation as well as enough time to relax and deal with any eventualities that may arise. Preparation of the conference signage For a conference that is to be held in a school hall, there are two forms of signs that are needed; navigational and informational. These signs should be easy to read and should also be made in such a way that they can be able to withstand elements of the weather. In the process of the creation of the navigational conference signs, it should be assumed that the attendees have never visited the site. This process should begin with the directions to the site of the conference that was given to the attendees so that as they drive through the school entrance they can easily see the directional arrows that direct them on where they should go (Shaw, 2008, p. 113). Once they have parked at the correct spots, there should be signs that will point to the area where the registration of the conference will take place. After registration, they should be directed in the appropriate direction where they will be able to find the conference welcome (Sam-Bodden, 2006, p. 4). Signs that direct the attendees in towards both directions between different conference session locations should also be available. Some of the informational signs will continue to exist all through the conference such as those identifying the name of a session location while other such those pointing to the location of peer sessions that are ran at a particular time will be displayed in a timely manner when their content has been determined. Prior plans of the location and time of posting these signs will significantly reduce confusion on the part of the attendees, queries as well as annoyance. Setting up the conference site Registration at the site of the conference can be a hectic activity as there is no control of the attending times of the attendees and at some point, there will be people waiting in line to be registered. When most of the people who are attending the conference arrive at the last minute, it becomes more challenging to deal with their registration (Peete and Taylor, 2003, p. 98). Registration at site mainly involves welcoming the people attending the conference as they arrive, provision of refreshments, verification of the information of the attendees, collection of unpaid registration fees among other activities (Rivlin, 1995, p. 6). Therefore, a suitable place for placing the registration site should be chosen and this area should provide the attendees with a pleasant registration experience while minimizing the stresses of the organizers (Devney, 2001, p. 73). The school where the conference can be held has several areas where the registration site may be comfortably placed. In determining the best place to locate the registration area, the traffic pattern should be considered as the layout should provide for the smooth flow of attendees who will be arriving at the venue. The member of the organizing committee should also have some allowance for meeting and greeting the arriving attendees and there should be space where these attendees can relax as they await their registration. The time for online registration should be adequately scheduled so that only one registration site is required in order to make the process more centralized. The site for registration should include a computer that has been loaded with the registration database, attached printer for generating the registration reports as well as staffers who possess the necessary expertise to conduct a registration process. Vendor exhibit site preparation The preparation of the vendor exhibit section entails procurement and setting up tables, drapes, chairs, and power as well as internet access based on the floor plan that will have already been determined (Cournoyer, 1991, p. 229). It is important that this activity take place on the day prior to the conference so that the area may be prepared in due time. The transportation of furniture and arranging it in the appropriate places is a tedious endeavor if a person does it alone. This part of the preparation will need the assistance of several people in carrying and moving the seats and tables which will be used. At the school where the conference is to be held, power and wired internet needs to be run to the vendor tables through the installation of extension cords and other cables in the areas that will have minimal or no traffic while being secured with tape to make sure that people do not trip against them. The preparation for these areas also needs navigational signs that will be useful in guiding the conference attendees to the vendor exhibit section and the areas where the vendors will put their exhibits. Conference seating arrangement At the conference welcome and introduction, only a few people are allowed to speak to the audience and at this point, the best arrangement would be a typical classroom format (Daemmrich, Gray and Shaper, 2006, p. 112). If the attendees are more than sixty in number, the best way to set up the seating will be in the classic classroom format. In the event that the attendees are less than sixty in number, the round table format may be used, and the conference can begin with the people who will have taken their seats at the roundtable circle. This will avoid the cases of the attendees moving all over the place after the opening session and therefore interrupting the flow of the conference while also stressing that the roundtable is the main session at the beginning of the conference. For a peer conference session that requires everyone contribution, it will be important for all the participants to see each other’s faces (Antunes et al., 2014, p. 374). It is also important to make sure the seating arrangement does not emphasize some people’s importance while de-emphasizing the importance of others. The power and efficiency of peer sessions is considerably reduced if the seating arrangement comprises of multiple rows, and chairs squeezed in a small room. This is where the school hall becomes important as it is big enough to create a round table format for the conference. The arrangement of the round table format should have spaces between the seats to allow people to join and depart from the round table. If the site of the roundtable setup is much bigger than the circle created by the chairs, one end of the circle will have to be positioned near a wall so that the flip chart sheets may be hanged. The overall circle should be as tight as possible and the shape of the roundtable to resemble a perfect circle. The circle should be small and comfortable with minimal empty seats with several gaps between several seats so that others can be added if the number of participants increases. The people who come late can be able to take a seat from a pile and fix it into one of the gaps that had been initially left vacant and in this way; the circle will fill up before the end of the session while not having any empty chairs. For every round table session, copyists will be required near the flipcharts and the boards and others to write down the topics and concepts that will be raised at the meeting. The people who will be selected for this activity are supposed to have some level of skill in the subject of the conference so that they may be able to develop summaries of the responses that are given by the participants in an accurate and concise manner. A time-keeper may also be needed so that time can be impartially allocated among the participants. The time-keeper may be required to sound up to two alerts where one will warn the participant that time is about to end and the next will signify that their time allocated time has ended (Mosley, Megginson and Pietri, 2005, p. 298). In most of the cases, it is assumed that the participants may be able to time themselves if a digital timer that was visible to everyone was provided. However, it is difficult for the participants to monitor their own time while giving presentations and listening to the responses of the other participants on the round table. Some of the strategies that can allow the participant to be the time keeper while remaining focused on the ongoing activities of the round table include the use of computer based timing software to perform the timekeeping function or the use of pre-recorded alerts that may be replayed using a digital music player. Preparing for more than one roundtables In the event that the number of participants attending the conference is more than sixty, it is preferable to have more than two roundtable sessions. Regardless of the fact each participant will hear directly from only a half of the participants, the alternative may be a marathon session that will take more than three hours or an abbreviated sharing of time in regard to every participant. Brief pair sessions before and after the roundtable session may allow the people attending the conference to achieve all the benefits of single roundtable without necessarily being overwhelmed by the material that is available (Harris, 2008). The best format for two concurrent roundtable sessions is having three rooms where one will have the classroom setup for the entire group while the other two will contain seats for each half of the group. If this amount of space is not available, two rooms can do but seats will have to be moved about in the initial room in order to change the seating format from a classroom setup to a circle. Holding both roundtable sessions in the same place may be distracting even if the space they are in is large. Preparations for peer sessions In the process of visiting the site, four rooms which will be used for the peer sessions will be chosen within the school premises but in the event that the number needed is more than four, then the roundtable set ups may be used as space for the additional group. In the process of setting up the peer sessions, enough sitting spaces as well as blackboards or whiteboards with working markers should be provided. In case the peer sessions will need the use of computers or video projection, then this equipment should be set up and tested prior to being used for the peer session. The setup of the peer session rooms should be in a format that encourages discussions through the use of chairs in a circle or a rounded square, or surrounding one or more table in the room. If the session will involve presentations or panels, the room should allow the attendees to arrange their chairs in a manner that will support this layout. The areas where the schedules that take place after the peer sessions are placed should be determined beforehand. These locations could include doors of every peer room, the refreshment areas or the gathering areas where the participants may want to find out which session would take place in which room. Conclusion Generally, it is important to arrive at the venue of the conference on time to make sure that everything is working correctly, check whether the rooms that will be used are have been cleaned, the seats have been arranged in the correct manner and the lighting as well as heating has been set at a level that will not make the participants uncomfortable (Fay, 1999, p. 179). All the equipment should also be checked and make sure the maintenance staff at the venue deal with any faults that are found (Rao, 2007, p. 61). The people who will be responsible for any repairs in case there anything goes wrong should be identified at an early stage before the conference gets underway so that they may act promptly in the event that something happens. The catering for refreshments and others services must also be double-checked to make sure they will be adequate for the number of people who are expected for the conference and make sure there is an allowance just in case the number of people is more than the expected figure (Frigenti and Comninos, 2002, p. 254). The registration procedures should also be efficient guided by proper signs and directions to make sure it takes the shortest time possible. Bibliography Antunes, P., Gerosa, M., Sylvester, A., Vassileva, J. and De Vreede, G. 2014, Collaboration and Technology, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg. Campbell, F. 2003, Essential tips for organizing conferences and events, Kogan Page, London. Cournoyer, B. 1991, The social work skills workbook, Wadsworth Pub. Co, Belmont, CA. Daemmrich, A., Gray, N. and Shaper, L. 2006, Reflections from the frontiers, explorations for the future, Chemical Heritage Press, Philadelphia, Penn. 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Torkildsen, G. 2005, Leisure and recreation management, Routledge, London. Read More