{"id":6936,"date":"2018-11-16T13:03:54","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T00:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/?p=6936"},"modified":"2018-11-16T14:24:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-16T01:24:00","slug":"why-you-should-volunteer-for-a-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/?p=6936","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Volunteer for a Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week I had the great fortune to help out with the ICOM (International Council of Museums) joint conference<\/a> on training and development in regional museums. It was a 5-day conference, held between 12 museums and a university. I helped for the two days they were here in Auckland. In exchange, I was fed, given a lanyard, and was able to sit in on a few sessions without having to pay registration. No doubt, when the organiser has caught up on sleep, I\u2019ll probably get a letter or certificate confirming that I volunteered and thanking me for my help.<\/p>\n

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The thing is, though, this conference isn\u2019t even in the same field as my own studies. Sure, I have an interest and background in museums studies, but not in regional museums, and not in training and development. I was mostly volunteering because I know the conference organiser and knew she was short staffed; and I had a day off anyway.<\/p>\n

What I did get, however, was way more valuable than what I expected. This was an international conference, with speakers from all over the world. During the dinner on the first night I sat with people from Greece, China, and Australia. We spoke about dance, music, open air museums, knitting, art, adult education, and wine. I now have invitations to visit Canberra and Crete. During lunch on the second day I met professionals from museums around New Zealand or at least put faces to names, and built connections with people that I might not have ever had a chance to meet otherwise.<\/p>\n

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What did I do during the conference? A lot of different things. On the first day I manned the registration desk, filled goody bags for the delegates, corrected nametags, guided people to the bathroom, and showed them how to find coffee. All before 9am. I mediated group discussion time and then typed up group comments into word clouds. On the second day, I became the in-house IT expert and room facilitator. During question time I helped ask the hard questions that put people on the spot and led to group discussions. During lunch I tracked down the caterers to ask why there were 50 delegates but 40 chairs and only 25 forks. The biggest tasks for volunteers at a conference are: providing customer service to people from out of town, helping presenters with their nerves, carrying stuff back and forth, and cleaning up after everyone when they go off for drinks.<\/p>\n

I would suggest, going into the event, adjusting your motivations beyond networking, sitting in on sessions for free, or taking home lots of free stuff. Go along with the intention to be a professional event manager, and you\u2019ll find the other things happen by magic. There is a fine line to walk, though, because you are there mostly to observe. The trick is to listen carefully and then perhaps in the break time talk to presenters (but without gushing or kissing up to them). You may feel like an imposter in the room. But remember that contextual theory tells us that every person experiences life differently, so every person will have different experiences and understanding on a topic. You might be able to provide a new perspective on an issue without being an expert in it.<\/p>\n

Want to volunteer for conferences? You\u2019ll need to be:<\/p>\n