Guidelines for Virtual Speakers and Facilitators

Thank you for your contribution and welcome to the 22nd Futures Conference!

This year, the conference will be held in three formats:

  • In-person, which will be held with physical participation at the conference venue, Radisson Blu Marina Palace Hotel in Turku.
  • Hybrid, some in-person sessions will also be broadcasted online and virtual participants be able to ask questions and make comments during in-person sessions.
  • Virtually organised parallel session program with various workshops.

To see the session’s format, you can access the conference session program.

In addition to the live events on the conference venue, the Futures Conference 2022 is built on a platform called ProspectumLive. Personal links to the platform will be provided as soon as the platform is activated. You will find the program, live-streamed presentations of the keynote speakers, links to the various online sessions and their recordings, poster exhibition, contact information for the other participants, all on the platform.

The platform works on both, desktop and mobile, and it will stay open from 8 June until 31 August, and the programme recordings will remain available on the platform for the conference participants. More details will be available later.

These guidelines are given to virtual session speakers and workshop facilitators. Please read the instructions given below and do your best to follow them to help make the conference a rewarding one for all participants.

Guidelines for Speakers and Workshop Facilitators taking part virtually

The Sessions are scheduled for Thursday 16 June at 09:00–15:00 and Friday 17 June at 9:00–13:50.

All the virtual and hybrid sessions and workshops will be run using Zoom. Note that all the virtual sessions will be recorded. Recordings will be available after the conference on the conference platform. However, if you do not want your presentation recording to be shared with the conference audience, please notify us about that: futuresconference@utu.fi.

Using and testing the Zoom Software

We recommend that you install the Zoom software on your device before the event. The individually installed Zoom software provides more functionality for managing and using the meeting. > Download Zoom software

Please note that there will be separate test sessions on using the Zoom organized a week before the event. If you feel that you need support with the system, we strongly recommend you to join one of the test sessions provided below.

Futures Conference 2022 – Zoom Test Session I
Time: Wed 8 Jun 2022, 2:00–3:00 PM (GMT/UTC +3)
Join Zoom Test at: https://utu.zoom.us/j/64247146323

Futures Conference 2022 – Zoom Test Session II
Time: Thu 9 Jun 2022, 3:00–4:00 PM (GMT/UTC +3)
Join Zoom Test at: https://utu.zoom.us/j/67094835005

Virtual Paper Presentations

There will be a chairperson in each parallel track of sessions. The chair will introduce the speakers and manage the time to ensure that each speaker has equal time.

The chair will also lead the chaired discussion after the presentation. The audience may comment and ask questions by using the chat. There will be a moderator in each session to monitor the chat and assist with technical issues. You can concentrate on your presentation as the questions will be presented to you after the presentation.

The length of one spoken paper track is 75–105 minutes. There will be 3–5 presentations in each track. The time allocated for each presentation is limited to 20 minutes, including a 5-minute chaired discussion. You may wish to use a visual aid such as PowerPoint or Prezi to reinforce your presentation and engage your audience. We recommend limiting the number of slides to 4–8 to stay on schedule.

Virtual Workshops

The length of Workshop Sessions is 90–105 minutes. There will be a moderator in each session to assist if any such help is needed. You can concentrate on facilitating your workshop. It may include a spoken presentation, and you may wish to use a visual aid such as PowerPoint or Prezi to reinforce your presentation and engage your audience.

Facilitators or other presenters are sharing their slides to the audience in Zoom themselves. Please, feel free to use any online workshop methods and tools that you find useful in your workshop, and clearly communicate that to participants as well.

Hybrid Poster Session

The poster session will be held in a hybrid format and therefore broadcasted and recorded.

The length of the session is 50 minutes and there will be presentations given in-person in Turku and virtually. The time allocated for each presentation is limited to 10 minutes, including a 5 minutes chaired discussion.

The poster session will be hosted, and all poster authors are interviewed during this hybrid session. The audience may comment and ask questions live or by using the chat. There will be a moderator in the session to monitor the chat and assist with technical issues.

Posters will be visible on the conference platform throughout the conference. Whether you are participating in-person or virtually, please send us your poster with (Poster_Firstname_Lastname.pdf) via futuresconference@utu.fi no later than Wed 5 June.

  • Since posters will be presented in hybrid mode on a screen placed at poster room, posters layout should be landscape (horizontal) and in pdf format.
  • Remember that your presentation must be readable from a distance. Keep visual materials simple and clear.
  • Rely sparingly on graphs, charts, tables, and pictures, to communicate information where possible. Focus selectively on major findings.
  • Simple use of color can add effective emphasis.
  • You are free to bring and distribute handouts, papers, or other brochure material for delegates who request additional information at the poster session rooms.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and sensitivity in following the instructions provided above. If you have any questions, you can contact the conference secretariat at futuresconference@utu.fi.