GUIDELINES FOR THE

CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT
Preparations
GENERAL INFORMATION
• The conference’s official website is https://oc24.heysummit.com/. There you will find all
information including the programme and time slots of all 85 sessions, panel’s themes and
presentations’ topics of over 330 speakers, as well as their short biographies.
There are 15 teams in total: teams Orange ABCDE, teams Purple ABCDE, and teams Green
ABCDE – you can find the overview of all the 15 teams here. In case it is helpful, please use
Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac) to look for your name in the programme.

Between 4 and 7 volunteers have been assigned to each team - please let us know
immediately if, for some reason such as we got your time zone wrong, that the assigned
team does not work for your actual time / location, so that we can move you to a different
team asap.
o Important: we need at least 3 volunteers for each panel. Orange and Purple teams are
in charge of 6 panels for each team, whereas Green teams are in charge of 5 panels
each. Please can you coordinate within your team to assign 3 volunteers for each of the 5-
6 panels your team is in charge of, and let us know who are in charge of which specific
panel asap (via email and also by filling out columns C and D in this checklist)?

• 1-2 stream managers from the Global Initiative (GI-TOC) will be assigned to each team.
Please see here the conference’s Secretariat programme with the stream managers’ names –
we will add the respective volunteers’ names after we have received the list / confirmation
from your team (regarding which 3 volunteers will be in charge of which panel).

• This Google Drive folder includes all materials and information for the Conference
Secretariat. You will need a valid Google account to access it. If you do not yet have one,
please create one here (free).
• You will be introduced to your assigned team members and sessions’ speakers via email.

• You will be the speakers’ first point of contact, so please familiarise yourself with the
moderator guidelines here, in case the panellists have any questions. Please also see here
the most frequently asked questions by other volunteers and/or speakers.

• The stream managers (a GI-TOC employee) will be your first point of contact. Their email
addresses are provided at the end of this document.

• In case of emergencies, and if you cannot reach stream managers, please email
IASOC@globalinitiative.net (with URGENT in the Subject line), or contact Ms Thi Hoang via
phone / WhatsApp / Signal at +43 660 381 9444.
 APPS
• Zoom

The conference will be run using Zoom Webinar.

We would therefore ask you to please:

o Download and install the most recent version of the Zoom desktop application prior to
the conference,
o Create a free Zoom account yourself (if you do not have one already),
o Familiarise yourself with all the Zoom’s functions and frequently asked questions, in
order to best assist the speakers and audience (please note that Zoom Webinar is
different from Zoom Meeting, see here for more info).

• WhatsApp

You will create WhatsApp groups for the speakers in the sessions assigned to you.

We would therefore ask you to please:

o Download and install WhatsApp in both your mobile phone and desktop (if you do not
have one).
o Familiarise yourself with WhatsApp functions, especially regarding how to create and
invite people into groups via links.
 Before the conference
GETTING TO KNOW OTHER SECRETARIAT TEAM MEMBERS
• You will be connected to other secretariat members who will be in the same team with you.
• Please get in touch with your teammates either via email or WhatsApp, to (i) get to know
each other; and (ii) coordinate and allocate the following tasks:

1. ASSIGNING CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT TEAM MEMBERS (AT LEAST 3) TO EACH

OF 5-6 THE PANELS YOUR TEAM IS IN CHARGE OF
• We need at least 3 volunteers for each panel. Please coordinate within your team to assign
at least 3 volunteers for each of the 5-6 panels your team is in charge of, and let us know
who are in charge of which specific panel asap (via email and also by filling out columns C
and D in this checklist).

2. CONNECTING SPEAKERS, MODERATOR, STREAM MANAGERS AND THE

CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT
• Please create 1 WhatsApp group for each panel assigned to you (please communicate with
other secretariat members in your team, who are assigned to the same panel, to avoid
creating duplicated groups).
In the email connecting the secretariat team members (connecting you and other
volunteers, as well as the GITOC stream managers who will be your assigned panels’ Zoom
hosts), we will include the speakers’ phone numbers which you could please then use to
add them to their respective WhatsApp group:
o Please name the WhatsApp group as follows: ‘OC24-2022_Panel XYZ’ (xyz being the
panel number, for example ‘OC24-2022_Panel 4b’. Please see here for the conference
agenda).
o Please choose one OC24 logo among these logos for your panel’s WhatsApp group.
o Please add all speakers, moderator, the secretariat team members assigned to that
panel (so not everyone in your bigger team Orange / Purple / Green), and stream
managers in the respective panel to the WhatsApp group.
• In case you do not have the speakers’ phone numbers, you can also create a link and email
them that link, so that they can just join the group by clicking that invite link – please see
here for more information.
 3. COLLECTING PRESENTATIONS FROM SPEAKERS AND UPLOADING TO GOOGLE
DRIVE
• Please ask the speakers asap if they are presenting slides – if yes, please ask them to send
them to you at the latest 24 hours before their panel’s start. Please do not hesitate to
reach out to the speakers, it is very important that we gather the right materials for each
speaker/moderator.

• PowerPoint slides: please convert them into PDFs and upload the PDF files to the relevant
panel’s folder (please note that some speakers (especially moderators) will not present a
paper/PowerPoint, which is totally fine!) in the Conference Secretariat Google Drive.

• Please note that there are five different session formats:

- regular panel
- roundtable discussion
- commentary on OC policy
- library / book interview
- video screening
Please refer to the moderator guidelines here for their descriptions.

Note: Most panellists in a regular panel session will present a paper/ PowerPoint, whereas
in a video screening session or library/book interview session, they are less likely to.

4. CONDUCTING A ZOOM WEBINAR TEST RUN WITH SPEAKERS PRIOR TO THE

CONFERENCE
• Please ask the speakers (of the panels you have been assigned to) if they would need a test
Zoom Webinar to check their technical equipment and/or to connect with other speakers
prior to the conference.
o If yes, please arrange a time which works for all (or most) speakers in the panel.
o Please then contact the respective panel’s stream manager and ask them to set up a
test Zoom Webinar at that specific time for your panel. At least a member of the
Conference Secretariat team (volunteers) is recommended to join the test run.
o During this test webinar, you can:
▪ ensure everyone’s equipment is properly installed and working, and
 ▪ run over the protocols of the session (e.g. topics and time allotted for each
speaker and presentation, Q&A at the end of the session, etc. [which will mostly
be discussed and agreed between the session’s moderator & speakers])
• We recommend that these Zoom Webinar technical test runs are held prior to the
conference (ideally between Wednesday 5th October and Wednesday 12th October), or latest
prior to the day of the session (e.g. Thursday 13th October at the latest if the panel is on Friday
14th October).

Important: Please use this Check list and indicate in your assigned session(s) accordingly as
you are completing / have completed the tasks above.

FAMILIARISING WITH ZOOM FEATURES

Video screening on Zoom
• Please follow these steps when sharing/screening a video on Zoom:
o Click the ‘Share Screen’ button located in your meeting controls (more about screen
sharing here)
o Select the screen you want to share and select ‘Optimize for full-screen video clip’, and
‘Share computer sound’ (if you want to send computer audio to the remote attendees
when sharing a video or audio clip) (more information on optimizing screen here, and
on sharing computer sound here).
o Click ‘Share Screen’
Please be aware that the audience will be able to see your screen as you are viewing it .
o Start playing your video in full screen, with sound, while sharing your screen

Ideally, if you are screening a video (e.g. the welcome video at the start of panel 1A, 1B, 1C,
1D, and 1E), please download that video locally to your laptop, and follow the steps below
to ensure the video’s quality (it is also more professional as you will not need to share your
desktop’s screen):

Step 1: Click on ‘Share Screen’ on your Zoom control panel / bar (highlighted in green):
Step 2: Click on ‘Advanced’, then choose / double click on ‘Video’ as shown in the
screenshot below:
Step 3: Choose the ‘OC24 Welcome Message’ video which you downloaded
 Step 4: Double check that you are ‘sharing computer sound’, then click play.

Language interpretation on Zoom

• The language interpretation feature on Zoom allows the designated interpreters to
broadcast their own audio channels for the language they are translating into. Attendees
can then select the right channel and follow the conference in their language of choice.
• If any of your session’s speaker is planning to have interpreters for their presentation,
please notify the session’s stream manager in advance, as we will need to register
interpreters accordingly in our system, and ensure proper technical support is in place.

Listening to language interpretation:

1. In your meeting / webinar controls, click Interpretation .
2. Select the language you wish to listen to the conference in

3. (Optional) To hear the interpreted language only, click Mute Original Audio .
• Click here for more information on the language interpretation on Zoom.
On the conference day
PRIOR TO THE SESSION
• Please ask your panels’ stream manager(s) for a link to join the panel’s Zoom
Webinar as a panelist.
• Please log in 10-15 minutes before the start of your panels, in order to address
any technical problem that may arise, as well as to support the session’s
speakers/moderator should they need assistance.
• Please name/rename yourselves as ‘Secretariat_Full Name’ (for example,
‘Secretariat_Thi Hoang’) when logging in your respective session’s Zoom
Webinar.
• Please check that all the session’s speakers/moderator are present in the correct
Zoom Webinar 10 minutes before the session starts. If they are not, please
message them on WhatsApp and/or via email. If they are not responding, please
try (i) calling them; (ii) sending private message on Twitter / LinkedIn. If none of
these solutions work, please contact the session’s stream manager right away.
• Please have the WhatsApp app open (ideally on your desktop/laptop)
throughout the session, to better communicate with the speakers and other
team members (as Zoom has a relatively limited chat function).

AT THE START / END OF THE SESSION

• If you are in one of the five opening panels (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E), the stream
managers (or you) will be playing the OC24 – 2022 opening / welcome video at
the start of the panel).
• If you are in one of the five closing panels (17A, 17B, 17C, 17D and 17E), one of
the co-organisers will join as a panelist at the end of the panel, to deliver a
closing statement / remark. The stream managers (or you) will be playing the
OC24 – 2022 closing video to officially close the conference.

DURING THE SESSION

Please assign team members the following responsibilities:
1. Presentation/video controller: one team member should be in charge of operating
the speakers’ presentations and/or videos during the session, unless the speakers
prefer to share their screen themselves instead.
• Please have all presentations (in PDF format) saved locally in one dedicated
folder on your desktop/laptop.
• When you are screen-sharing a presentation in pdf, please make it full screen (by
going to ‘View’, then click ‘Enter Full Screen’ as shown below:

• If you are in a video screening session, please either have it downloaded locally
beforehand, or if it is a YouTube video: please play the whole video on YouTube
and in 1080p quality prior to the session, in order to avoid loading issues due to
slow Internet.
• Please pay close attention to the speakers’ presentations so that you can quickly
move to the next slide as requested.
When you are sharing your screen with the audience, please be aware that everyone
will be able to see your screen as you are viewing it.
2. Quote catcher: one (or more) member(s) should take notes of interesting elements
that are being said or presented, and write them directly in this Google Doc.
Specifically, please note down: (i) the time when the interesting statement is being
said, e.g. 15.47 (CEST), or 9.30pm (EDT); (ii) the speaker’s name; and (iii) what is
being said (can be in bullet points, no need for an exact transcription).

All assigned team members:

• Please support the session’s moderator and stream manager in keeping track of the
session’s time, as well as of each speaker’s allotted time (or remind the moderator if
they themselves are not following it).
➢ Please alert the speakers and moderator and indicate 5 minutes and 2 minutes
before their time is up, and the end of the allotted time (through private
messaging on Zoom or WhatsApp).
➢ Please do not hesitate to tell the speaker that their time is up (to allow sufficient
time for other speakers and discussion/Q&As). Given the tight schedule of the
day, all panels must end on time, regardless of the state of discussions (especially
if you need to move onto the next panel assigned to your team).
• Please support the session’s moderator and speakers in keeping track of the
questions asked by the audience / attendees either in the chat box, or via the
dedicated Q&A box of the Zoom Webinar. Please private message the moderator
in the Zoom chat box or via WhatsApp if he/she misses some questions/comments
from the audience.
• Some speakers / moderator might ask you to give some attendees (oftentimes their
colleagues) speaking permission, so that they could unmute themselves and ask the
questions directly (instead of writing in the chat), and/or join the panel’s discussion.
Please coordinate with your stream manager for this (either ask the stream
manager to do so, or ask to be assigned as the panel’s co-host so that you could do
so).
Social media
• The conference’s official hashtag is #OC24, please use it in your social media
posts (this also helps make social media posts and tweets visible to the
conference’s participants).
• Please share and post about the conference and your session(s) on your chosen
social platform, using the #OC24 hashtag and tagging the speakers, and/or the
conference’s organisers, to attract more audience to your sessions.
• Please see here a social media kit with sample posts and tweets for you to use.
• There are also social media cards for each session (available in this folder),
which you can please feel free to use them at your disposal, or forward it to
the respective panel’s speakers should they ask.
• Please check with the session’s speakers in advance if they are not happy to be
quoted on social media and/or to have their slides shared (via screenshots etc.)
on social media.
• We recommend that you follow the conference’s organisers’ social media
accounts to see all conference related updates (Twitter: @theIASOC,
@ECPR_SGOC, and @GI-TOC).

PLEASE SHARE CONTENT RELATED TO

YOUR SESSIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH
THE HASHTAG #OC24
Other organisation/logistics issues
STREAM MANAGERS (GI-TOC)

• Adrian Ancira, adrian.ancira@globalinitiative.net

• Ana Castro, ana.castro@globalinitiative.net
• Anesa Agovic, anesa.agovic@globalinitiative.net
• Chwayita Thobela, chwayita.thobela@globalinitiative.net
• Claudio Landi, Claudio.Landi@globalinitiative.net
• Gabriela Stanimirova, gabriela.stanimirova@globalinitiative.net
• Giulia Roncon, giulia.roncon@globalinitiative.net
• Irina Tontcheva, irina.tontcheva@globalinitiative.net
• Iris Oustinoff, iris.oustinoff@globalinitiative.net
• Lina María Asprilla, lina.asprilla@globalinitiative.net
• Natnicha Surasit, natnicha.surasit@globalinitiative.net
• Radha Barooah, Radha.Barooah@globalinitiative.net
• Rumbi Matamba, rumbi.matamba@globalinitiative.net
• Sarah Salaymah, sarah.salaymah@globalinitiative.net
• Valentina Rincones, valentina.rincones@globalinitiative.net
• Thi Hoang, thi.hoang@globalinitiative.net