NNN Conference 2022
13th- 15th September 2022, Hybrid Event, Nepal and Online
The 13th Annual Neglected Tropical Disease NGO Network (NNN) Conference was held virtually and in-person at the Hotel Yak and Yeti, Kathmandu, Nepal, from the 13th to 15th September 2022.
This was the first hybrid NNN Conference and having been the Professional Conference Organiser for the conference for 9 consecutive years, it was an exciting challenge to take on. An intricate task of managing over 100 speakers, 300 in-person delegates and 150 virtual attendees from more than 50 countries lay ahead.
MYT Events was delighted to provide the NNN Conference with full planning for the event, including detailed delegate management support, venue liaison, pre-event management, programme shaping, speaker management and branding designs.
As part of the brief of this hybrid event, MYT worked closely with the NNN Committee on the programme of the event to ensure it was engaging, inspiring and productive. We researched suitable platforms for interactivity, adequate Audio Visual equipment within budget and provided structured running schedules for each session. We liaised with the local AV Team to facilitate content streaming for on-site and virtual delegates and ensured that speakers had their latest slides at the tip of their fingertips when they needed them. The team was also involved in managing and liaising with the Nepalease and French Interpreters to ensure they had been briefed about the content and were set up on-time for their sessions.
We managed to cover 20 workshops, 3 plenary and 1 rapid fire session in the three days – which we feel is no mean feat! Not to mention the inauguration of the conference from the Right Honorable President of Nepal Mrs. Bidya Devi Bhandari.
One of the challenges of a hybrid conference meant that we had to split our teams. Seven of the MYT team would operate on-site from Nepal, and four would be helping virtually from the UK. To mitigate the challenges of hosting a conference in a new environment, MYT worked on the Operational Programme of Events. The document highlighted points of contact, access and set up times, room layouts and login links, catering, approved signatories, a covid response plan, emergency information and everything else both in-person and virtual attendees would require for the conference.
The on-site team ensured equipment and conference materials arrived on time, staff manned the welcome desks throughout the event and provided directions for attendees. Each member of the MYT team was available throughout the venue for information and questions.
The virtual team not only tackled early starts due to time differences, but were online in each session to set up and sound check virtual speakers, keep track of numbers, support delegates with queries and operate breakout rooms..
However, planning for a conference isn’t just about the 3 days of the event – It’s everything in the days, weeks and months (and even delayed years) leading up to it. Despite being booked since 2019, the project formally kicked off in late 2021, where the process of workshop submission, online registration portal, monthly reconciliations and processing sponsor income began.
Each part of the conference, whether in-person or virtual, was designed for the NNN audience to drive engagement, connection, and action. The advent of technology may have made it easier to host a hybrid conference, but it doesn’t happen on its own. MYT Events took on the challenging role, like it has done for the past nine years, and ensured that the NNN committee could focus on what they do best: Battling against the NTDs.
