Program subcommittee puts final puzzle pieces in place

Posted by conference on September 19, 2009 under Blog: New Postings, Speakers and Program, The Making of Conference 2010 | Be the First to Comment

The subcommittee in charge of planning the program for OGS Conference 2010 has been hard at work this spring and summer putting together the best lineup of workshops and presentations possible.

With more than 300 proposals to choose from, the selection process has been a challenge. Subcommittee members reviewed all the proposals and assessed them first on general merit. Would the topic appeal to Conference attendees? Was the proposal well organized and thought out? Had it been done before? The calibre of the submissions we received was such that we found it quite difficult to rule out any of them at this stage.

The next step was to categorize the proposals so that we could make our tough choices in a more systematic and balanced way. It was time for spreadsheets and index cards! We grouped proposals by geographic area—which ones had an Ontario focus, an Irish focus, a U.S. focus, etc.? We identified the target audience for each proposal—was it aimed at experienced researchers, at those just starting their family history adventures, or was it suitable for everyone? We sorted by the type of topic—which proposals related to the methodology of genealogy, to record collections, to case studies?

And perhaps most importantly, we looked carefully at each proposal to make sure that it reflected at least one aspect of the Conference 2010 theme—essentials, innovations and delights.

Putting together the actual Conference 2010 schedule has been a bit like working on a giant jigsaw puzzle—hours and hours of hunting for just the right fit, with some trial and error along the way, but a great deal of satisfaction when it all comes together. We started with our “corner pieces”—the presentations by Conference 2010 keynote speaker Thomas W. Jones—and we are building our program around them.

We have calculated travel and accommodation costs, crunched numbers and made the most of our program budget.

We are packing each Conference day with practical and inspiring content. And we are constantly asking ourselves… will every Conference attendee see at least one session in each time slot that he or she won’t want to miss?

We think we’re close to completing our puzzle and we can’t wait to show it off…