How to organize a symposium or congress?

How to organize a symposium or congress? Every organizer knows that setting up such an event requires a lot of rigor. However, by following certain key steps of the process, your company will be crowned with success.

Discover in this article the essential points to plan and successfully conduct your next symposium. At the end of this meeting, the specialists gathered around your topic will have nothing but praise for you.

1. Define your main objectives

First and foremost, you need to know the main objectives to achieve. From these will result many decisions regarding the organization of your symposium.

• Is it exclusively intended to deliver information or recommendations to an informed audience? On the contrary, should it allow various speakers to exchange their ideas during interactive discussions?
• To properly cover the subject, does your event require the intervention of a single or several experts? Will a single day be sufficient?
• Ultimately, what is the purpose of this symposium? To enable different specialists to share advancements or the results of their work? To establish new collaborations?

Whatever the reasons for this event, knowing the expected objectives enlightens you regarding its planning, which aims to be professional and flawless.

2. Establish a budget forecast

When organizing a symposium, being aware of the objectives allows the manager to define the budget that should be allocated to it. Once the format of the event is determined, the projected expenses then include:

• the rental of the venue or necessary structures;
• the cost of audiovisual equipment;
• the communication/marketing budget;
• the transportation costs for speakers;
• catering, and possibly accommodation expenses.

The administrator also estimates the expected income, including potential participant registration fees and potential revenue from sales (beverages, food, accessories, books, etc.). Prudently, they add a small safety margin to handle any unforeseen circumstances.

Additionally, symposium financing may also involve external contributions, such as grants, sponsorship, or partnerships.
 

3. Choosing a suitable venue and date
 

By knowing the number of speakers and participants, you will know which structure will be most suitable for hosting your symposium. Renting a room, a venue, or privatizing any other space, an amphitheater or even a hotel, must be confirmed well in advance. Especially since these venues, highly sought after, are sometimes booked from one year to the next.

The chosen date is equally important. It would be unfortunate if your symposium did not attract a full audience due to another major event happening at the same time, or even during a holiday period.

The essential equipment

The selected venue must allow for the setup of different spaces, some dedicated to conferences, others to roundtable discussions among experts, or even workshops. For this, quality equipment is essential:

• projectors and screens;
• an adequate number of microphones;
• sound system for speeches;
• a good internet connection, especially for virtual interventions;
• stage furniture;
• signage...

Catering

Regardless of the duration of your symposium, you must ensure that everyone lacks nothing. If your event lasts for a half-day, a coffee break at the very least is recommended. This break is ideal for maintaining concentration and allowing participants to interact.

For a longer symposium, seated catering is appropriate. Choose between a caterer, boxed meals, food trucks, or nearby restaurants. It's up to you to select the best option and to arrange, if necessary, a space with stand-up tables or tables to comfortably accommodate participants during their meal.

4. Establishing a schedule
 

The chronology of your symposium must be established with precision. A program grid informs participants of all the sessions offered to them. Additionally, it indicates to speakers or discussion groups the time allotted to them. Thus, your timing, like a metronome, is respected, and your symposium will unfold smoothly.

This element is essential and should not be neglected by the symposium organizer. Shared with participants, it provides them with all the necessary information. It would be a shame if some stakeholders missed a Q&A session or couldn't debate a topic they're passionate about due to not knowing the exact locations and schedules of each session.

5. Promoting your symposium

Organizing a symposium also involves planning its promotion to attract the largest number of attendees on the day of the event. To reach your target audience, a communication campaign is therefore essential. Television or radio advertisements, newspaper announcements, or advertisements on social networks can be used depending on the size and nature of your event.

It is also common to create dedicated social media pages for your symposium. Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or the essential LinkedIn are valuable tools for delivering information and insights, both before, during, and even after your event.
 

6. Thanking and getting feedback

With tasks well distributed among co-organizers, the symposium draws to a close in complete serenity. However, for total success, one last thing falls on you: thank everyone, from speakers to poster presenters, not forgetting sponsors, suppliers, and even volunteers who contributed to making this event a success.

An email sent to various participants, renewing your thanks, also provides an opportunity to obtain feedback. This can take the form of an informal comment or constructive suggestions. Finally, the various presentations can be replayed on social media platforms where comments are plentiful.

Don't know how to organize a symposium? Feel free to contact us to learn more about our services and various solutions. Together, let's build a great event.