Reflections on the 2020 SIETAR USA Virtual Conference
Oct 16, 2020This year was the first year that SIETAR USA held a virtual conference. The conference was hosted partially on Zoom and on the REMO platform, which was a great choice and was well-liked by many participants. One of the speakers said, “I liked [that Remo] revealed that it is possible to have a virtual conference. I especially liked the networking piece. I love Remo! I don’t know what’s the best path in the future. There will be many more options. I like that there is usually a spot at a table. Good experimentation. How do we feel stepping out of our comfort zones? I liked there weren’t too many sessions. But, with more people it may be a problem. We will need clarity on the format of sessions with an increased number of people. And in the future, presenters need to know about connection issues in advance. I couldn’t use the chat feature and I am an interactive speaker.”
One participant said, “I am pleasantly surprised. I was apprehensive about this first virtual platform. We’ve welcomed people from all over the world [and] for me that has been so wonderful in this time of Covid where we’re all so isolated. We’re bringing the world a little closer. I loved Saturday’s session Global Storytelling of Cultural Resilience with all of the videos of real stories from people in different places. [It is] lovely to have those connections.”
Another participant said, “For those that experienced isolation and bad news with what has been happened with Covid-19, the conference was the perfect antidote. We were connecting, our conversations were stimulating, and there has been kindness. I feel like I’ve been with my tribe!” Reflecting on their experiences throughout the different sessions, one participant said, “let me tell you that I have learned a lot. [I have learned] many practical points I wasn't aware [that] I did not know.” Another participant said that, “[I] have talked with lots of people who I have known for a while. [This is] not so different from [a] face-to-face conference. [We are] curious to meet and talk, and have empathy for each other. Compared to corporate conferences, here the behavior is different. [This is a] select group of people passionate [about interculturalism]. I have the desire to reconnect and have meaningful conversations. It’s about the quality of conversations, not the quantity.”
One participant attended the 2014 SIETAR USA Conference, but was disappointed by the lack of social justice-focused content. The returning participant added, “I am glad to see the inclusion of anti-racism as an integral part of cross-cultural communication. [I appreciated that] the session on Beyond the Book Club was good; it gave us permission to be ‘learners’ rather than ‘experts’ on issues and topics.”
Participants shared their reflections and key learnings from the diverse array of sessions offered. An attendee of the session Diversity Space Meeting Game: Virtual Play Session for Professionals Involved in Diversity & Inclusion said, “We played a game. It was great! It significantly expanded my sense of what is possible on Zoom!” An attendee of the session Global Leadership Lessons from Covid-19 shared that, “so many tools [were] learned [and] different models that could be used. [The] most important thing is the trust barometer. [The speaker] also talked about model GDS (head, hand, heart – 9 competencies for global leaders) and countries responses to Covid-19. [Interestingly] female-led countries did better than male-led ones. I would love to hear more about the details.”
One attendee of the session Improve Your Virtual Training Facilitation Evaluations and Have More Fun Doing It found the session to be very informative and learned that, “[an] initial format is very important to have. [It’s key to know] how to do an online class, use the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), create a syllabus and weekly schedule, [create] greater diversity within a cohort, [ensure that] learning is extended over time, allow for integration, [gather] good info about tech platforms, and [learn] ways to effectively teach online.” One attendee of the session Becoming the New Intercultural Practitioner: Transformation or Stagnation said that, “It was all fantastic. Specifically, Ricardo Nunez talked about ‘Return on Expectations’ which was new to me.” One attendee of the session Looking Forward to the Future of Intercultural Relations reflected that, “[I need to] remind myself that there’s lots of people who want to do the good work that we want to do. We need to connect before the next conference to talk about [our] plans as intercultural trainers [as to] how we can move the needle. We must remember to come back together, collaborate, share, vent, and move forward.”
One of the attendees of the session Leveraging Our Experiential Multiculturalism to Lead Through VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) noted that, “[The session was] interesting because it talked about fear. ‘Have fear but still move on.’ [The session was a] reminder to be resilient [and say] ‘I will be intentional this week to build my own resilience.’” In closing, the diverse session offerings were appreciated by all participants and the virtual platform, Remo, worked well and offered a break from traditional Zoom-only meetings and webinars.
by Emily Kawasaki, M.S.Ed., Assistant Editor
