The future of conferences towards sustainability and inclusivity

Round table discussion at ISBA 2024, Venezia, 1-7 July 2024, about the future and sustainability of ISBA conferences

1. The future(s) of [ISBA] conferences
Christian P. Robert
U. Paris Dauphine PSL & Warwick U.

2. Issues with one-fits-all conferences
▶individual costs of reaching and attending conferences
▶organisational costs for renting large venue and catering to
a large audiemce
▶environmental costs attached (incl. travel, food waste)
▶impossibilities (e.g., regulatory, visa-related, cultural,
ethical, religious, physical, linguistic) to travel to and enter
another country
▶personal constraints preventing one being away from home
(dependents, teaching, physical) completely or for long

3. Issues with virtual conferences
Despite success of Bernoulli-IMS One World meeting 2020 and
of ISBA 2021

4. Issues with virtual conferences
Despite success of Bernoulli-IMS One World meeting 2020 and
of ISBA 2021

5. Issues with virtual conferences
Despite success of Bernoulli-IMS One World meeting 2020 and
of ISBA 2021
▶fragmentated attention and screen fatigue
▶isolation and limited interactions
▶personal constraints (time zone, local commitments,
Internet connection, lack of personal space)
▶lower return on investment for speakers and even more
posterers

6. Issues with hybrid conferences
Despite allowing larger audiences and alleviating some on-site
drawbacks
▶broadcasting costs of running hybrid events
▶reluctance or prohibition to pay registration fees if not
attending
▶two-tier participants
▶most drawbacks of virtual conferences (e.g., time zone
conflicts)

7. Multihub conferences
▶massively decentralized conferences
▶multiple environments allowing for diversity and inclusion
▶reduced cost, time constraints for attendees and organisers
▶adapted to local circumstances (eg, time-zone compatible)
▶making the most of different time zones
▶allowing for small groups and better interactions
▶global-local environments
▶no limit on hubs (讓百花齊放)

8. 24/7
[Kremser et al., 2024]

9. even if it does not avoid biases
[Kremser et al., 2024]

10. Related challenges
▶Make all participants identified and visible by all hubs
▶Engage every hub as being equally important as the others
▶Ensure the hub graph is connected
▶Seek symmetry in active vs passive sessions
▶Preserve local events (discussions, posters, labs)
[Levitis et al., 2021]

11. Example 1: ISBA at CIRM

12. Example 2: ABC in Svalbard

13. Example 2: ABC in Svalbard

14. Example 3: ELLIS unconference

15. Open for discussion