The event brought people together to showcase various projects that were a part of the Side by Side Cymru programme from all across Wales. It highlighted the work that each project had been doing and the positive impacts it had had in their area. Inclusivity was important and with this in mind, the event was in dual language with attendees able to listen in Welsh with live translators.
ZiaBia’s Role
We were engaged to work on the event from the early stages, as we already had an existing relationship with Mind and their team having worked on multiple previous events. We were able to hit the ground running, bringing on-board our AV partners TechPro to handle the production side of Zoom so we could concentrate on the execution of the logistics, speaker management, delegate management and work alongside Mind on the event content and agenda creation. We of course were also present on the day to Event Manage and to work with the team and speakers to ensure everything ran smoothly.
Delegate Management
As part of our role, we managed an event specific inbox for all the delegate communications and any queries or questions from attendees. We were supplied with various delegate lists which we compiled into a master list to track progress and acceptances throughout the process. All communications were sent in both English and Welsh to ensure the event was inclusive, additional time was incorporated into timelines to allow time for translation.
Agenda Creation
The event agenda was full to the brim and included a mindfulness session, panel session and a live graphic artist capturing the event. It was important to keep the event short and within the desired 90 minutes. Instead of a break we introduced different elements to keep the attendees engaged and interacting throughout. We introduced Slido with two questions relevant to the agenda, one shared at the beginning and the other shared mid-way through which lead attendees to share their thoughts with answers being shown on-screen. We encouraged attendees to take a quick screen break and keep hydrated and take a chance to move and stretch!
We utilised the Miro Board feature in Zoom and created a map of Wales. Attendees were prompted to let everyone know where they were joining in from in the chat, which we then plotted onto the Miro Board to share during the event.
Rehearsals
Planning is key and a full day of rehearsals for all speakers were held a couple of days before the event to ensure everyone involved was comfortable with their role and how the event would flow. These were essential to ensure all parties involved were familiar with the platform and had the opportunity to run through their sessions or presentation. It also enabled us to test technology and send out headsets to a small number of people who had issues with their audio! Additionally, we were joined by the translators to test the translation process and ensure they were familiar with the sessions they would be translating!
An additional drop-in attendee session was available on the morning of the event to offer additional support and allow for any technical tests.
Feedback
The feedback received was outstanding – from speakers and attendees alike. It is always great to see how an event comes together, how ideas and creativity come to fruition and everyone involved feels engaged and included.
