The pandemic push: can COVID-19 reinvent conferences to models rooted in sustainability, equitability and inclusion?

Holly J Niner; Shaili Johri; Judith Meyer; Sophia N Wassermann

doi:10.1007/s42532-020-00059-y

The pandemic push: can COVID-19 reinvent conferences to models rooted in sustainability, equitability and inclusion?

Socioecol Pract Res. 2020;2(3):253-256. doi: 10.1007/s42532-020-00059-y. Epub 2020 Aug 25.

Authors

Holly J Niner¹, Shaili Johri², Judith Meyer³, Sophia N Wassermann⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Floor 3, Marine Building, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA UK.
² Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, 120 Oceanview Boulevard, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 USA.
³ Centre for Ocean and Society, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Neufeldtstraße 10, 24118 Kiel, Germany.
⁴ Ryan Institute, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Rd., Galway, H91 TK33 Ireland.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates a change in conference formats for 2020. This shift offers a unique opportunity to address long-standing inequities in access and issues of sustainability associated with traditional conference formats, through testing online platforms. However, moving online is not a panacea for all of these concerns, particularly those arising from uneven distribution of access to the Internet and other technology. With conferences and events being forced to move online, this is a critical juncture to examine how online formats can be used to best effect and to reduce the inequities of in-person meetings. In this article, we highlight that a thoughtful and equitable move to online formats could vastly strengthen the global socio-ecological research community and foster cohesive and effective collaborations, with ecology and society being the ultimate beneficiaries.

Keywords: Diversity; Equitable access; Inclusion; Knowledge exchange; Online conference; Sustainability; Virtual conference.