Summary

The Digital World Symposium, hosted by the Winspear Centre, tackled the question of digital technology that engages speakers and attendees in practical conversations about the new digital world we find ourselves in. With the help of an educational grant from the Canadian Council for the Arts, the event was free to attendees, and took place across eight weeks on each Wednesday morning throughout January and February 2021.

The Symposium targeted CEOs looking to introduce digital initiatives to their organizations, General Managers who are interested in the end benefits of going digital, educators who want to creatively expand their outreach activities, musicians and artists looking to engage their audiences in innovative and novel ways, and anyone else who is interested in the digital world and its intersection with the arts.

Our Role

BUKSA was initially hired to provide speaker management for the Winspear’s in-person symposium. With the sudden pivot to virtual, our role pivoted as well, requiring us to help our client figure out how to host a virtual event. In addition to providing virtual consultation support, we provided full platform support, virtual onsite technical support, and full-service speaker management. We provided the speakers with AV testing, advice on presenting virtually, rehearsals, and day-of speaker support. Additionally, our team was present for all 8 webinars to provide technical support.

Value Adds

Event Rehearsals

There’s nothing worse than feeling unprepared for a big event, and the digital world can amplify this due to all the technology you need to manage. Our team scheduled rehearsals with each speaker and the session moderators, helping them navigate the platform, practice delivering their speeches, and inspiring confidence in their preparedness. Of course, our effective technological development and management made sure there were no glitches, allowing the content of the symposium to really shine through!

Pivot to Virtual

The pivot from in-person to virtual events is not an easy one to navigate, as it requires advanced technological development and effective communications strategies. That’s where BUKSA came in. Given the fact that the Winspear Centre received a grant to host their event, they needed to ensure that the Digital World Symposium was hosted within a certain time frame. The original program involved a live two-day event, but in consultation with the client we decided on an eight-week webinar series for ease of delivery. In collaboration with the Winspear Centre, our team built a program containing content that built upon the previous week’s session, making the weekly schedule flow seamlessly. We helped our client pick the right platform for their event, and varied the session format for each webinar to keep the audience interested. For example, some sessions had one speaker, while others highlighted multiple speakers discussing a single topic. The program also included panels, fireside chats, and more, all based on the week’s topic.

We helped our client produce a high-quality, seamless virtual event featuring content that makes sense for its digital format. With overwhelming success, each session highlighted the benefits of digital event technology, engaged audiences looking for knowledge in virtual event execution, and emphasized some effective digital event best practices. We’re proud to have been involved with an accessible, seamless virtual series highlighting important momentum within the arts community!