We are looking forward to welcoming you to the Annual Conference. This page provides more information about arrangements for those attending online. If you are attending the conference in person, please see our guidance on planning to attend the in-person sessions and event, and what to expect at the in-person conference.
You can find out more about the exciting array of sessions at the conference in our online programme, including details of the Chair's plenaries and programme highlights.
At the following links you can also find out more about:
Please direct any questions to ac2023@rgs.org
Overview of the hybrid and virtual elements
Virtual and hybrid sessions will be accessed through the Fourwaves virtual event platform.
Those registered for the conference will have access enabled to the virtual sessions, to any pre-uploaded content, and to session recordings. Access to Fourwaves is enabled through the email account you used to register for the event. If you are not sure what this is, please contact us at ac2023@rgs.org.
Plenary livestream
We will be livestreaming the Chair's plenary lectures and other high-profile sessions (including journal sponsored lectures) from the Ondaatje Theatre at the Society. A link to the livestream will be available through the Fourwaves virtual events platform when you are logged in. Click on the session to access this.
Zoom
Hybrid and online programme sessions will be hosted on Zoom, which has been selected for its flexibility, familiarity and accessibility features, and in response to delegate feedback from previous years. Please also see our guidance on accessibility at the conference for more information.
We recommend that you download and install the desktop version of Zoom prior to the conference. If you already have Zoom installed, please make sure you are using the latest version.
There is extensive guidance in the Zoom support centre about how to use Zoom. Articles that may be particularly helpful are their Frequently asked questions guide; how to join a meeting; and how to view closed captions/live transcription.
We will be holding drop in sessions for remote presenters on Zoom in August.
These are an opportunity to check you can join a Zoom meeting, test your microphone and video, and practice sharing your screen.
As an online delegate, you will be able to access online-only sessions and hybrid sessions - any session with a 'Join meeting' button on the session details.
Each hybrid session will have a Zoom meeting set up using our conference Zoom accounts, and a session room allocated at the Society.
Online sessions are just that – online. The chair, presenters, and attendees will all be online. To join these at the conference in London, find a quiet space, plug in your headphones and join online.
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Each hybrid and online-only session will have a Zoom meeting link.
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This will be available on the session details within the online conference programme.
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You will need to be logged into the online programme to see the ‘Join meeting’ button.
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Zoom meetings will open approximately 20 minutes before the session is scheduled to start.
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If you are joining online, please do not unmute yourself during the session unless invited to by the chair (e.g. you are a presenter and it is your turn to present, or you have been invited to ask your question verbally in the Q&A).
See our guidance for presenters
See our guidance for chairs
Joining online only sessions at the in-person conference
We will have two ways for in-person attendees to join/participate in online-only sessions:
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In our Members' Room (which has small pod rooms with tables and chairs), individuals will be able to sit with headphones and laptop to join an online session, using the Society’s Wi-Fi.
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If chairs or presenters are attending in person that day and need to participate in an online session, we recommend this route.
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We will have headsets available to borrow from the conference helpdesk, though we also encourage delegates to bring their own. Delegates must use headsets/headphones for joining sessions, to avoid disrupting other delegates.
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This will be first come, first served – delegates can just turn up to the Members' Room to take a space
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If there are no spaces available and you urgently need to join a session as chair or presenter, please come and see us at the conference helpdesk (if possible at least 20 minutes ahead of the session start time)
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We will also have some ‘viewing rooms’ available, where people can gather to listen to/watch an online session from their own laptop.
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We don’t recommend this route for chairs or presenters
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We’ll have some desktop speakers available to borrow from the conference helpdesk
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To request a viewing room please come to the conference helpdesk at least 20 minutes before the start of a session. They will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Asynchronous content
With over 30 parallel sessions at the conference this year in each timeslot, it's a busy and packed programme, and lots of sessions to choose from. With so much going on, we know that you might not be able to make it to every session that interests you, which is why we are really excited that this year session organisers and presenters can upload additional content to presentations in the online programme.
This means you can share your research with colleagues who are not able to join your session in real time, whether that's because they're on different time zones, in other sessions at the same time, or not attending the whole conference. They can view and comment on the material you upload outside of live sessions, and you can keep the conversation going beyond the session itself. You can also use this in the run up to the conference to share content with others in your session ahead of time and make connections ahead of the event.
You can upload:
We warmly encourage you to make the most of this capacity.
How to add content
Log into Fourwaves and navigate to your original submission. New questions have been added which allow you to upload additional material. For further guidance please see here.
Uploaded material will be visible to registered delegates when they are logged into the conference programme, and available for up to three months after the conference. If you have any questions please contact us at ac2023@rgs.org
Session recordings
Some sessions at the conference will be recorded, including the chair's plenary lectures. The decision to record other specific sessions sits with the session organisers. Recorded sessions will be available subsequently to registered delegates, and may be used for other educational purposes.