The pros and cons of a virtual conference: the first virtual International Ornithological Congress held in 2022

Abstract

Scientific conferences are essential for exchanging ideas and knowledge among scientific communities (Sarvenaz 2020). They are important for sharing new ideas, discussion and networking, and traditionally involve face-to-face, live interactions. However, the number of congresses that have been presented in an alternative virtual format has increased exponentially with the restrictions imposed by the global COVID-19 pandemic (N Freysen-Pretorious, pers. obs.; Kuehne et al. 2022). As a result, there has been a plethora of publications assessing the implications of changing to a virtual format for a diverse range of disciplines, including the biological sciences (Barral 2020; Pacchioni 2020; van der Wal et al. 2022; Skiles et al. 2022; Kuehne et al. 2022). Many highlight how these virtual conferences raise accessibility, inclusiveness, interactions, and affordability, especially for women and early-career researchers. In addition, many highlight that virtual conferences will provide shortand long-term benefits for scientific communities. ‘Online access during the pandemic widened participation in scientific conferences for women, young scientists and those from lowand middle-income countries, and should be continued.’ (Johnson 2022) But some publications have also highlighted the negatives of virtual conferences, in particular, how some people are less likely to submit an abstract or attend a virtual conference and how professional development can be hindered (Woodruff et al. 2021). The International Ornithologists’ Union (IOU) has convened the world’s largest summits on avian biology since its first Congress in 1884. The International Ornithological Congress is held every four years to promote international cooperation in ornithological research, and was meant to occur in person in Durban, South Africa, in 2022. The IOU partnered with the University of KwaZulu-Natal to organise the 28th IOCongress® from 15 to 19 August 2022. The 22nd Congress was first held in Africa in 1998 (Berruti 1998), and almost 25 years later, we were looking forward to hosting it again in Africa. The organisation began in 2020; however, in January 2022, the decision to go virtual was taken primarily because of the probability of COVID-19 disrupting travel, and the economic downturn made it likely that a live conference would result in a substantial financial loss to the organisers. The Conference Company contracted Centium Events Air to host the conference fully virtually. This was the first time this IOCongress had taken place virtually, and the pros and cons were carefully considered. We have documented some of these here.