WINNING BIG
CN sat down with Sammy Connell , from NASUWT - The Teachers ’ Union to talk about their Annual Conference , which won big at the ABPCO Excellence Awards
he NASUWT ’ s Annual Conference is where its policies are agreed and its National Executive Committee are held to account . With 1,000 attendees , it is the Union ’ s single most important event of the year and an opportunity to showcase the work of the organisation to its members , potential members , decision-makers and the public .
Being recognised for being the Best Event by an In-House PCO , in 2022 NASUWUT set out to completely transform the annual conference with a focus on sustainability , accessibility , becoming digitally advanced and wellbeing .
Well in advance of the conference , it surveyed all those members who had recently attended an NASUWT conference or event :
• 76 % said they felt either comfortable or very comfortable using a digital device .
• Of those who felt uncomfortable , a minority felt training and support wouldn ’ t help them .
• 79 % said they had a smart phone , 46 % a tablet and 56 % could bring a laptop .
These results provided the data to proceed with moving to a truly digital-first conference , which included the decision to go paperless ( traditionally , we would print 15,000 documents ).
The Best Event by an In-House PCO
The organisers were warned by other trade union contacts that it would be impossible to host a truly democratic conference without the use of paper , due to the fact that Union Annual Conferences are democratic and debate led .
NASUWT knew a minority may not have access to digital devices or technological issues so we ensured a limited supply onsite . It offered support for members including pre-conference how-to guides and videos , onsite training sessions , dedicated app support desks and a giant 55 ’’ iPhone showcasing the functionality .
In terms of impact …
• 92 % rated their conference experience as good or excellent .
• 87 % rated the app as good or excellent
• 90 % rated their ability to participate and engage with the conference good or excellent .
In addition to the success with UK-based delegates , the international roundtable became
truly hybrid with speakers from nations including Iran , Bahrain , France and many more . The technology circumvented all the challenges usually associated with travel , visas and immigration – essential as Covid-related travel restrictions remained in place in many countries . Ultimately , it permitted our stakeholders to engage and shape the debate on teacher policy across the globe .
What ’ s next ?
So , what has been learnt and what is next for the NASUWT conference ?
Due to budget constraints the event could only live-stream the main conference sessions . Going forward , the organisers would like to expand this offering to include seminars and other content whilst measuring the impact this had in-terms of increasing activism .
NASUWT also wish to evaluate the carbon impact of the event immediately afterwards and have robust reports to share and compare , whilst looking to reduce this for future events . CN www . conference-news . co . uk