[seedig] SEEDIG 7 Series Announcement

[Olga Kyryliuk]

Dear SEEDIG Community,

As you know, SEEDIG was undergoing the election process in the last few months, and the Executive Committee has recently started its work in a new composition. I am also delighted to share that I assumed a SEEDIG Chair role and look forward to working with all of you in this new capacity. Thanks to Sorina's guidance, SEEDIG became a successful and reputable IG forum well recognised far beyond the region. I only hope that together with my colleagues at the Executive Committee, we can demonstrate as much success in the coming year.

Currently, the main point on our agenda is SEEDIG 7 preparation. After thorough discussions and lessons learnt exercise, the Executive Committee decided to experiment and change the approach to our annual meeting for 2021. This year, we will transform SEEDIG annual meeting into a series of online events held throughout the year under the initial title - SEEDIG 7 Series.

The rationale behind our decision is the following:

1. Our ideal plan was to meet in person in Moldova. But recent discussions with the host revealed that hosting an international event in September in Chisinau (even with a small number of participants) is highly unlikely due to the ongoing uncertainty regarding COVID-related rules. And even if by September authorities allow small gatherings with local participants – thus creating some initial conditions for a hybrid event – it was felt (both by the Executive Committee and the host) that this is not a desirable solution for a SEEDIG meeting (we would rather go with a format which enables equal participation opportunities for everyone).

2. The next option was to have SEEDIG 7 organised as an online event, the same as we did last year. But we acknowledge that by now, everyone is quite exhausted from numerous online meetings. To make an online meeting attractive, we need to experiment again with the format and timing giving our community members more flexibility to attend specific sessions of particular interest and broader opportunities for engagement in the planning process.

3. The ‘SEEDIG 7 series’ would include short online events organised on a regular basis (e.g., monthly). The topics to be discussed will be based both on the submissions received during the call for issues and identified throughout the year based on regional and global developments, as well as new partnerships. 

4. For each event in the series, SEEDIG will aim to identify at least one organisation to act as a co-organiser, both within and beyond the existing network of partners. The co-organiser's role would be to contribute expertise to the planning and running of the event and provide outreach and communication support (i.e. promoting the event). This approach would serve several goals: (1) strengthening our relations with current partners; (2) expanding the network of partners by involving more organisations (in particular regional ones); (3) attracting new participants (and, potentially, community members) thanks to the event also being promoted by the co-organiser.

5. For each event, we would play with the formats, building on the experience of SEEDIG 6 and ensuring that the discussions are highly interactive. The ‘SEEDIG 7 series' would also include some of the ‘creative tracks’ introduced at SEEDIG 6, such as the SEEinnovate track and the SEEtalks.

6. At the end of the year, conclusions from all events will be compiled into the usual SEEDIG 7 messages. 

We trust that shorter online events spread throughout the year would be more appealing to you as a community and hope for your support on this new approach!

We remain open to your feedback and suggestions.
 
Best, Olga Kyryliuk
Chair | SEEDIG Executive Committee
(on behalf of the Executive Committee)


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