MicroCapital
: European Microfinance Week 2020 (EMW2020) – like so many events nowadays – is going virtual. How will this change the conference? What will the experience be like for attendees?
Christoph Pausch: EMW2020 remains – like in all years – a member-led conference, with the agenda constructed around what members indicate they find most important each year. So that hasn’t changed at all. But there will be clear differences, of course. There still will be a diverse range of sessions over three days (even more than usual in fact, with close to 50 events on the programme). But going online dictates that we be imaginative and innovative in the format and presentation of those sessions. Attendees will experience a huge range of event types – big plenaries and traditional panel discussions, but also fireside chats, keynotes, case study presentations, working sessions, topic lounges and publication launches, including of Taking Shelter, the new book on housing microfinance.
By this point in the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all experienced some form of “webinar fatigue.” Lengthy online sessions with a series of presentations one after the other can be dull and exhausting. So in choosing our event platform and putting together the agenda, we’ve strived to design sessions guaranteed to be varied, engaging, dynamic and interactive.
MC: How do you suggest attendees choose from all these formats and topics?
CP: Firstly, the programme is split into thematic streams – for example, the impact of COVID-19, climate change, client protection, digitalisation, and the topic of this year’s European Microfinance Award, “Encouraging Effective and Inclusive Savings.” And they’ve been scheduled so that someone with a focus in a particular area can certainly attend all the sessions within that stream live. But one of the great advantages of going online is that all sessions will be recorded, and all attendees will have access to those recordings during and after the conference. One of the other opportunities of going online is bringing in a more diverse, international audience of stakeholders who would not be able to travel to Luxembourg. This allows new people across different time zones to take part, expanding the European Microfinance Platform‘s (e-MFP’s) network and also introducing more content focused on particular regions. So, in short, anyone attending the conference will be able to choose to take part live or watch after the fact. Virtual EMW2020 offers great flexibility.
MC: Besides the pioneering topics in over 40 sessions, what else can attendees expect from EMW2020?
CP: Every year after our in-person conference, we conduct a survey of participants, and one of the things that always stands out is how much attendees value the networking opportunities available at our wonderful conference venue in Luxembourg. So we knew from the start that our online conference would have to offer attendees the chance to reach out and connect as much as possible. It so happens that the pandemic has led to enormous advances in the effectiveness of the networking opportunities offered by online conference systems. So after trialing several, we found one that really does this very well. Attendees will be able to join different groups of other attendees based on their role or region or subject focus, allowing them to take part in smaller, focused group discussions. They’ll also be able to invite additional people to a group or break off for one-to-one meetings. During an in-person conference, of course, this is exactly how many concepts move from idea to collaboration to stronger partnerships. Being able to connect people and organisations together is one of the things that a network like e-MFP does best.
Another key element of EMW2020 is the online European Microfinance Award ceremony, which – as always – will be on the Thursday of the conference. As in past years, there will be videos about the three Award finalists – Buusaa Gonofaa, Muktinath Bikas Bank and RENACA-Bénin – and of course the announcement of the winner of the EUR 100,000 prize.
Beyond the networking and Award ceremony, attendees will see a stellar line-up of speakers across all the formats – top experts and opinion leaders in their fields, from all over the world. In almost all sessions, there will be a strong audience-engagement component as well, with opportunities to ask questions, take part in polls and share ideas. And more than ever, the conference will really become more than the sum of its parts. It is not a list of 40-something webinars. It is a holistic, interactive knowledge experience that will help attendees share their ideas about the future of financial inclusion after this most challenging of years.
Christoph Pausch is the Executive Secretary of e-MFP, a role he has held since 2007.
This feature is part of a sponsored series on EMW2020, which will take place online from November 18 through November 20. The event is held annually by e?MFP. MicroCapital has been engaged to promote and report on the conference each year since 2012.
Sources and Additional Resources
European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) information on European Microfinance Week 2020
http://www.e-mfp.eu/european-microfinance-week-2020
MicroCapital coverage since 2012 of European Microfinance Week, including each European Microfinance Award
https://www.microcapital.org/category/european-microfinance-week/
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