CONGRESS 55
Internet connectivity was an intermittent
problem throughout Congress.
This might have been exacerbated by
the high demand from the home-based
workforce using the internet to continue
working, teaching, learning etc. Poor
internet connectivity caused pixelation
of the videos making it difficult to read
small-font text e.g. on graphs. In some
instances, poor connectivity caused delays
between the audio and the video.
In anticipation of these issues, compounded
by the possibility of electricity
load-shedding in South Africa, all videos
from each session were available to
delegates for 48 hours for on-demand
viewing.
The willingness of participants to adopt
new technologies varied. The guideline
documents and videos went a long way
to allay these fears and as COVID-19
lockdowns extended around the world,
these technologies are becoming the
new norm not only for running congresses
but also for on-line teaching
in schools and tertiary institutions and
are gradually becoming less intimidating
than they were at the beginning of
lockdown.
Some delegates did not adhere to the
guideline documents. This led to some
editing problems. A few presenters were
uncomfortable speaking into a camera
and microphone but again, this was no
worse than ‘speaker-nerves’ at a physical
congress. This problem might have
been overcome had presenters practised
their presentations more before
submitting a final version. This suggestion
is provided because some listeners
found instances of hesitancy distracting.
Some participants were concerned that
their employers would not regard a virtual
congress being a ‘real’ event and
were therefore concerned as to about
how to prove their attendance at a virtual
congress. However, the Zoom ®
software automatically tracks logins of
participants, hence it was a simple matter
to provide proof of attendance for
delegates if this was required. Similarly,
some employers were reluctant to pay
for employees to attend a virtual congress
because of a lack of experience or
insight.
Shortly before our Congress, concerns
were raised around the world about the
security of the Zoom ® software. This was
compounded locally by a parliamentary
Zoom ® meeting being ‘hacked’ (it subsequently
emerged that one of the attendees
at this meeting had posted the
Zoom ® invitation publicly on social media,
hence there was no control on who
could attend the meeting). Some government
departments and companies
subsequently banned the use of Zoom ®
software. The organising committee
worked closely with the developers of
Zoom ® to draft a letter outlining the
security features of this software. It was
also ensured that attendees used the
latest version of Zoom ® (version 5 or later)
which had updated security features
and full encryption. Letters substantiating
these upgrades were provided to
delegates who were required to allay
the concerns of their IT departments.
Initially, the physical Congress was fully
sponsored. Changing to the virtual online
format required revision and remotivation
for funding. Fortunately,
the Eastern Cape Department of Rural
Development and Agrarian Reform, the
main sponsor, was prepared to fund a
virtual event. It was, however, extremely
difficult to obtain funding from other
usual sources due to the severe economic
implications linked to the extended
lockdown.
Severe budget cuts and staff retrenchments
associated with economic repercussions
of lockdown resulted in many
members who usually attended Congress
being unable to attend even a virtual
congress. Problems such as these
were not foreseen in March 2020 when
planning started.
A popular part of the physical congresses
has always been the conference
tours. The change to virtual format
meant that tours had to be cancelled.
Because the organising committee felt
that this would diminish the ‘fun’ aspect
of the congress stakeholders were
asked to provide short videos highlighting
the projects or tourism facilities
available in the area around Jeffreys Bay
and the Eastern Cape.
Submissions were played during session
breaks to ensure a full engagement
throughout the Congress and prevent
‘dead’ time. Care was taken to ensure
that no copyright issues were infringed
by any of the promotional material.
A unique feature in hosting a virtual
congress was that this made it possible
to engage with people around the
world, to advise with planning the event
or participate as presenters/attendees.
Here time differences between RSA and
other parts of the world had to be accommodated
as far as possible. In this
regard, thanks are extended to the
American presenters who stayed awake
until 2 am (their time) to participate in
the live question and answer session
linked to their presentations!
The organising team worked under exceptionally
challenging conditions to
put the Congress together. As already
mentioned, lockdown in South Africa
meant that only essential workers could
go to work. Everyone else had to either
stay home or, where possible, work
from home. Schools were closed, meaning
that parents had to balance altered
working environments with revised
home responsibilities.
Consequently, many a child and pet
unintentionally participated in various
planning meetings! Travel bans associated
with the lockdown regulations
compounded stresses for members
dealing with their own or family health
issues. There can be little doubt that
the ban on the sale of alcohol increased
the stress levels of at least some members
who believed that a ‘sundowner’
or two would have helped them cope
better!
Successes
The online Research Skills Workshop,
R for Biologists, hosted by Dr Victoria
Goodall, was a resounding success.
By 23 June, the course was oversubscribed.
Initially, the course was limited
to 30 participants, however, Victoria graciously
accepted another 6 delegates.
The poster presentations were similarly
hugely successful, notwithstanding initial
resistance by some members to use
Twitter ® . The first poster ‘tweeted’ on
the first day of Congress received 1148
views on the first day alone.
Other posters received similar levels of
interest. This was a remarkable level of
exposure for the authors and their work.
The success of using the Twitter ® platform
requires dedicated input, however,
to stimulate conversations around the
Congress.
No parallel sessions were run thereby
making it possible for delegates to attend
all the sessions. This aspect received
many positive comments. Delegates
appreciated not having to ‘run’
between different sessions thereby
possibly missing the start of a session.
Undoubtedly delegates did miss the inperson
interaction and networking opportunities.
However, one positive comment received
was that there were no distractions
from chatting to others causing
one to miss a session! Requests were
made to include Zoom ® ‘break-away
rooms’ or ‘chat-rooms’ to improve networking
opportunities.
This will certainly be considered going
forward. Delegates were encouraged to
use the Zoom ® chat box and the Twitter
® platform to engage with one another
and this was well supported.
Congress topics ranged from droughtstressed
rangelands, communal rangeland
dynamics, governance and res-
07 Grassroots Vol 20 No 3 September 2020