Meeting and that in presence?

14 May 2022

As an NGO, we also collaborated digitally before the pandemic. But how do we inspire people to be present again? Permanent home office – history for many. We are planning a big presence meeting for the end of the year – our annual general meeting. 3 quick tips for a meeting in person.

Together in one room

In 2020, the Annual General Meeting, the Yearly Meeting, took place in Presence. For us members, it was the event of the year where we could come together and exchange ideas. The monthly meetings as well as the arrangements in the smaller teams were and still are digital. Why? It’s because of the different places where we live. We also coordinate with our collaborations, such as MYLILY, digitally.

Yearly Meeting

At the Annual General Meeting, we come together as a team and review the year, look back at completed projects and consider where we stand as an association, as an NGO. For us, it is especially important to look ahead: What can we learn from the new insights? What challenges do we have ahead of us? For the meeting we take a weekend and work together on new ideas as well as concepts.

The pandemic has not allowed us, as well as many other organizations, to exchange in presence. Our next general meeting is coming up at the end of 2022, just under six months away.

“Finally live again” vs. “yes, we’ll keep doing it digitally”?

There are arguments for both sides on this question. On the one hand, for some, meeting for real is an opportunity to exchange ideas more freely, without eye fatigue in front of the screen. On the other hand, after two years of “we dial into the meeting from the garden, the train or the park”, it can be a challenge to face the arrival and departure time again, for example.

For us, it’s not an either-or question:

We have opted for a face-to-face event, but above all we enable a hybrid AGM. For example, the onsite team in Malawi also joins in, just as at our Monthly Meetings, where the offsite team and the onsite team exchange ideas together.

But why in real life at all?

Some people ask themselves why meetings are being held in person again. Online meetings have become part of everyday life and routine for all of us. It is important to formulate the why for oneself and to keep in mind what added value a face-to-face meeting provides for the organization, the project.

Back to 2019?

The most important tip is that an in-person event doesn’t mean we do everything the way we used to. For us, it’s critical to learn from what we’ve learned over the last few years. If there is a 5-10 minute break per hour in the digital meeting, then that shouldn’t just be skipped in the face-to-face meeting. For us, the annual general meeting is a combination of topics to be discussed and a social gathering.

See you soon!

We are excited to have a new #FacesOfTom soon. Are you curious? If you have any questions for the Offsite team, we are always happy to include them in our interviews. Just drop us a line on our social media. See you soon!