NGOs Beyond 2014 - Articles

by Marianne Haslegrave

It is now six months since my posting on the ‘new normal’ in a (post)-COVID-19 world. (See: The ‘new normal’ in a (post-)Covid-19 world…) Wherever we live, as individuals, we have had to become used to the new ways of living: to social / physical distancing; to hand-washing; to wearing masks outside the home; and to being in isolation, if we come in contact with someone who is infected.

Although it was only a year ago that many civil society organizations (CSOs) working on the outcomes of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, were preparing for the Nairobi Summit on ICPD+25, it now all seems far away from current realities.

The ‘new normal’ has become the ‘now normal’ and we don’t know how long that will last.

‘Webinar-ed out’ or a new way of working

A major feature of the past six months has been virtual meetings. including ‘webinars’. Remembering back to pre-COVID-19 days, webinars took place on occasions, often to introduce new ideas or concepts. Now, it’s possible to spend all day ‘hopping’ from one online meeting to another (and doing very little else). Virtual meetings, as they have evolved during the past six months, appear to have a number of common features: frequently there are too many speakers, rather than too few; time-keeping seems to have gone out of the window; and there is rarely enough time for ‘Q & A’ (questions and answers). Is this really the best way of working, or should we be looking at other ideas going forward and / or finding a way to improve the webinar process?

I would make the following suggestions:

Varying the format, as webinars may not always be the best mechanism. They may impart a lot of information to a lot of people, but they do not necessarily lead to action and they can kill ‘lively discussion’. Alternatives include, for example, short briefings with a limited number of speakers (maybe only one or two), with more audience interaction, allowing individuals to make their own comments rather than putting them ‘in the chat’.
Disciplined chairs or moderators to ensure speakers keep to time, and who do not speak at great lengths themselves. While a moderator could previously see that members of the ‘audience’ wished to engage more actively, instead of just listening, now they have to ‘sense’ it in a virtual meeting, particularly when internet band-widths are causing problems and participants aren't visible. Having co-chairs and co-moderators can also help in this respect.
Formats with meeting agendas that include action points, with later follow-up to discuss and review what has been done subsequently.
Finding ways for ‘meetings in the wings’, to replace those quick chats that took place in the wings or afterwards over a cup of coffee or tea.

Also, need for improved technology

While we are now accustomed to ‘Zoom’ and other virtual conferencing platform, further improvements could still be made in the technology. Over time, internet access will hopefully improve.

The next posting in this series on the ‘now normal’ will look at CSO interaction with UN global and regional meetings. How CSOs prepare and find ways to contribute effectively to these processes will be critically important. With the suggestions above, I fully appreciate that I am only touching ‘the tip of the iceberg’ and would therefore ask you to send in your own suggestions and experiences of successful virtual meetings to covid19@commat.org, so that we can share them.