delegates are expected to be international , meaning that London ’ s global accessibility ( six airports ) is essential for attracting wide ranging participants .

The conference will be held at ExCeL London , an exhibition and international convention centre located in the Royal Docks region of London .

“ I know that everything is expensive in London , but ExCeL London has reasonable costs ,” states Vinker . “ We ’ re not using the entire facility , only around a third of its capacity . The part we ’ re using fits excellently to our needs .”

Engagement and going hybrid During the pandemic , WONCA had to switch two of its European conferences to a completely virtual format ( Berlin 2020 / Amsterdam 2021 ).

The 2022 event in London will be the first in-person European conference since Bratislava in 2019 . Despite the option to attend the conference virtually , Vinker considers that the vast majority of participants will be there in-person .

Vinker believes that the engagement of in-person experiences will be a significant motivating factor to bring people to London .

“ I can tell you from my own experience , when you ’ re going to a conference your schedule is closed ,” highlights Vinker . “ But if you are staying at home for a virtual conference of a couple of days , most people will continue to work . Therefore , the time that you spend actively engaged in the conference from home will actually be quite low .”

Vinker states that screen burnout is also a problem WONCA encountered

Above left : WONCA conference . Above right : Professor Shlomo Vinker

during virtual conferences throughout the pandemic : “ You cannot stay for too many hours and listen to lectures in front of a screen . It ’ s difficult and non-interactive .”

While attending a virtual event can be financially beneficial , especially for participants from lower income backgrounds , many medical professionals are monetarily assisted to attend conferences .

“ In medicine , you have to understand that many participants are subsidised by third parties ,” says Vinker . “ This could be academic institutions , associations , or pharmaceutical companies . In the end , delegates don ’ t personally spend on flights and foreign transport . For many participants it is all covered by a third party , so people like to go in-person .”

Nonetheless , Vinker also