As we all know, the Covid-19 pandemic has affected our lives in many ways - and the business landscape has certainly changed too. With the many cancellations of in-person conferences due to social distancing restrictions, more and more companies are turning to virtual conferences and online events.
Like many other organizations and companies, NAWIC, The National Association of Women in Construction, also had to quickly pivot to a virtual event for this year’s eagerly awaited conference.
NAWIC’s 2020 conference, which took place between August 12-14, featured two exciting keynote speakers, Ally Jencson and Jessica Rector. Over the course of the three days, attendees took in a range of interesting sessions and fun activities ranging from talks on mindfulness, avoiding burnout and sexual harassment in the workplace, to workshops on finance and teamwork, panel discussions and of course plenty of networking opportunities.
This was NAWIC’s first foray into the world of online conferences, and it was quite the success. In fact, this was the organization’s 65th annual conference! With a long tradition of holding successful conferences, NAWIC was well-equipped to be organizing their first virtual conference.
NAWIC’s Northeast Region Director, Romina Byrd, had this to say:
“Our NAWIC Annual Conference was fantastic! We had our normal business meetings and then had speakers with live chats as well as live online networking. It was engaging, well planned out and inspiring to hear such incredible work that is going on all across our country in NAWIC chapters. The only downside was that we couldn’t see each other in person but there is a time and place for everything.”
NAWIC’s Partners also felt that the conference was a success. Emily Soloby, who is the founder and CEO of NAWIC Partner Juno Jones Shoes, said the event was very successful:
“Although NAWIC has been holding an annual conference for 65 years, this was their first virtual conference and the experiment was a success! They had some great activities including at least 10 giveaways. We were thrilled to contribute a pair of Juno Jones steel toe boots to a lucky winner!”
With so many events being cancelled due to the pandemic, it's inspiring to see how NAWIC turned the situation into a positive by turning to online platforms and events instead of the traditional in-person conferences. In fact, this could mark the beginning of a shift towards more accessible conferences.
One of the great aspects of virtual conferences is that the recordings are often available online after the event, so that no one has to miss out - and NAWIC’s 65th annual conference is no exception! They’ve made all of the recordings and materials available to all registered attendees for a full 30 days following the event, so whether you were able to attend the conference live and would like a refresher or missed the live event, you’ll be able to take full advantage of the learning opportunities, speakers and networking NAWIC had to offer. You can check it out at their conference website.
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