A 20-metre Zoom wall allowed virtual attendees to join the studio audience live in Sydney.
Like most events in 2020, TEDxSydney went virtual this year, attracting more than 3,000 global attendees.
Event agency, INVNT GROUP, helped to execute the physical-to-digital move after working with the TEDx team in 2018 and 2019.
“We knew the talented and versatile INVNT GROUP team would be able to support us in pivoting our more than 5,000 attendee in-person TEDxSydney event to a unique and memorable online experience,” event founder, Remo Giuffré, said.
“It was incredibly important we didn’t lose any of the elements TEDxSydney is known for during this process — it’s a place where people come to hear leading and inspirational ideas, share their own thoughts, and connect with likeminded people. INVNT GROUP played an integral role in enabling us to achieve a seamless transition, while retaining our core identity and values,” he added.
Logging in via a custom-built platform, attendees joined four main stage sessions that were broadcast from live from a Sydney studio. And a new way of ‘gathering’ everyone: an expansive 20 metre Zoom wall so global virtual attendees could ‘join’ the studio audience live in Sydney.
As a nod to how the entire industry has been upended by the pandemic, the ideas forum also featured 27 Discovery Sessions, which provided attendees the opportunity to dive deeper into an idea, learn something new, or get up and move: think yoga and coffee art demos, plus advice-led sessions on topics like how to pitch to venture capitalists or design a more sustainable future.
During breaks, there was also the option to chat with other attendees via an online video roundtable, join a ‘Meet the Speaker’ Q&A session or participate in one of the Discovery Sessions.
And like many other events that have found new ways around registration fees in pandemic times, TEDxSydney offered a Pay It Forward initiative, where options included general admission for the event, as well as admission for a member of TEDxSydney’s charity partner, the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.
Read the article as it originally appeared on M&C Asia here.
