#EcsiteOnline consisted of a series of online events predominantly on Crowdcast and involving an enormous number of incredibly talented members of the Ecsite network. The aim was to give our community a chance to connect and share ideas, especially during lockdown and as museums and centres began to open back up, with all the changes that entailed. The Ecsite Conference is a very important time for us and our field, and the fact that we could not meet physically meant we had to plan a worthy alternative. #EcsiteOnline was composed of five parts:
- Members' drop-in sessions on Zoom, weekly from 17 March to 2 June, in which we discussed different relevant issues and topics brought forward by Ecsite members themselves.
- Webinars - from 13 May to 17 June we held six, hour-long webinar sessions every Wednesday. These were completely free for everyone to join, on a variety of important topics and curated by experts from the scicomm community. Everyone's efforts, including the many speakers, were completely voluntary and borne of the passion and dedication for which this field is characteristic and unique. The webinars triggered some crucial discussions which are bound to continue beyond the current crisis, the effects of which can only be guessed at. You can stream all of these fantastic webinars anytime on our YouTube playlist.
- Ecsite day - on 11 June, this was a full day event, with a keynote lecture, panel discussions, interactive games and all the wonderful elements and spirit that an Ecsite Conference usually has. Find out more about the day in this short article and rewatch all the Ecsite day videos (edited and improved) on our playlist.
- Business day - on 19 June, similarly to our usual Conference marketplace, we provided a platform for several scicomm businesses to present their exhibits digitally. You can find out more in this article and again, re-live all the sessions on the third and last #EcsiteOnline playlist.
- The launch of the Ecsite app - the Ecsite app was developed by Ecsite and Infotude to facilitate networking in our field. Whether you are established in the field or a complete newbie, you can make valuable connections and create or join Meetups to discuss pressing issues, reconnect with peers or discuss potential future Conference sessions. During Ecsite Online, the app was useful to check out the programme of upcoming events and as a replacement for face-to-face contact, but we will continue to adapt and improve it so that in the years to come you will be able to use it to complement and enhance your live Ecsite Conference experience. You can download and start using the app by going to: app.ecsite.eu.
We'd like to thank everyone who took part in front of and behind the scenes: members, speakers, curators, sponsors, attendees... It has been a real pleasure making this work and learning together, and we cannot wait to see all of you in person again for #Ecsite2021 in Stavanger, Norway!