Before the announcement Usually, at the end of each Convention, the location of the next one is announced. The following items need to be ready for the announcement: The Date of the Convention. Unless there are compelling reasons for doing otherwise, Agora Conventions are celebrated between Aug 15th and Oct 15th. The timeline that follows assumes that the Convention will be during the first half of September. The Motto or Tagline of the Convention. It should be one short catchy sentence. For example: AgoraCon 2019 (Lisbon) - "Dream big. Make it Happen" The Logo of the convention. All conventions should have a logo, to be used in all promotional materials, communications, merchandising, etc. The Logo should feature something from the host country or city and something from the Agora logo (usually the flame, but not necessarily) An introduction Video, 1 to 3 minutes of the country and city hosting the convention. You shouldn't need to do this - usually, the government tourist organizations or city councils are more than happy to provide such promotional material. October Set up a website with a blog for publishing news related to the convention. Create a first publication announcing with the Convention information above. Set up a mailing list for keeping interested people informed. It's fundamental that you have this infrastructure in place and tested. Make sure the blog has a "subscribe" or "keep me informed" link that adds a prospective attendee to the mailing list Decide how many days the convention will be - the minimum is 2 full days (Saturday and Sunday), the maximum is one week (Monday to Sunday) Assume an attendance of about 0.5 to 1% of the membership size (As of 2019, that would mean between 100 and 150 people). AgoraCon events are open, so depending on your capacity to draw people the numbers may vary. Start making a list of possible keynote speakers and workshop leaders - well-known personalities that would like to speak at the event. Please note that not all subjects are appropriate for a convention. Here are the driving criteria. Note that it's not necessary to be an Agora member to speak at a Convention. Establish an Agenda Outline. Your priority for the next two months (October and November) should be finding a suitable and affordable venue - this will be your biggest cost. Remember that there are several things happening in a Convention. Whether they occur in the same venue or not is up to you. Ideally, the answer will be yes. The main event - Speakers and Presentations Lunches and Dinners Parties The main venue should have the following characteristics: Sitting places for all the attendees + 20% As soundproof as possible. A stage A remotely controlled projector and a projection screen. Ideally, the projection screen should be withdrawable remotely as well. The projector should be able to accept at least 1280 x 1024 and should have VGA and HDMI inputs. Ideally, remotely controlled stage lights A sound system with wireless lapel microphones. Adequate forced (mechanical) ventilation. The temperature at the venue should be kept between 23-27 degrees celsius. Appropriate evacuation signaling and fire-extinguishing measures. The Dinner venue should have the following characteristics: Enough capacity for seating all attendees. Tables that can set at least 6 and at most 12 people. A "Presidential table" at the front (opposite to the entrance) You should start thinking about the payment system you want to use, and who will issue the invoices for those that request it. 10% of the ticket price must go towards Agora Speakers International, for funding the next Convention. December At this point, the venue and its cost should be clear. Take pictures of it (or use the promotional pictures that they have) January Convention Leaflet The Convention leaflet is a brochure or booklet that should contain, at a minimum, the following information: The agenda for all the days of the Convention. The exact address of all the venues, including instructions on how to get to them by public transport. A person responsible for handling Lost & Found issues, and his contact information. The wifi password of the venue. Attendee Packs All Convention Attendees should be provided with an Attendee Pack. The minimum pack should contain: A booklet with touristic information about the city hosting the Convention. You should be able to get these for free from the Tourst Promotion Board or equivalent organization in the booklet/leaflet A leaflet with information about the Convention. Any gifts that sponsors want to share with the Convention attendees. Club Banner Gallery Either in the main convention hall or in the hallways, there should be a place where clubs can hang their club banners. Make sure to have a mechanism to support those banners. Only standard-size and format banners will be allowed. No other club exhibits (posters, roll-ups, etc.) will be allowed. Country Flags Convention Stalls Interview Booth. Agenda Checklist Daily activities should start no earlier than 9 am and finish no later than 6 pm. The Agenda should be divided into blocks separated by coffee breaks / free time/lunch/dinner time. Each block should be no longer than 3 hours. Coffee breaks should be between 30 min and 1 hour (max) and should always be in the same venue where the Convention is taking place, preferably in an adjacent room or in the hallway. Lunchtime should be at least 1.5 hours if in the same venue. If the venue is different, add transportation time. Leave at least 1.5 hours between the end of the ordinary sessions and the Gala Dinner + Party, so that people can have time to return to their hotel and dress up for the evening. Media All media resources (photographs, videos, etc.) should be posted: On the official Agora Speakers International social network groups On the Convention website. Additionally, all media should be sent to info at agoraspeakers.org in its original format for archiving purposes. Stage Setup, Video, and Photography There should be three cameras filming the development of the whole event. One camera should be in the center of the room, providing wide-area coverage of the whole event One camera should be used to provide a zoom on the current speaker. One camera should be positioned on stage, with the ability to provide shots of the speaker and the audience. The cameras need not be professional cameras, but should at least be able to record HTDV 1080p @ 25fps, If professionals are used to filming and photograph the event, they should deliver the photographs and videos in an unedited format without any watermarks. Projection Background With the exception of speakers or acts on stage that require a specific presentation, the Agora Speakers International and Convention logos should be projected at all times in the background, at a height slightly above the actors. Here's an example from AgoraCon 2019 Lisbon: Projector Catering Checklist Please ensure that at least the following options are available for Convention attendees: Normal food option. Vegan option. Halal option. List all allergens on the menu. Marketing and Convention Materials All convention marketing materials on any support (digital, printed, etc.) need to display both the Convention logo and the Agora Speakers International logo. They may additionally display logos of sponsoring organizations, and of local clubs helping with the organization. The Convention logo and the Agora Speakers International logo must always be of equal size, and at least 25% larger than any other logo in the materials. No third-party entity logos may be present in the materials (regardless of their for/not for profit or public/private nature) unless they're directly sponsoring the Convention (either financially or by offering free goods or services). Speakers / Workshop leads Speakers, workshop leads and in general events surrounding the Convention should be announced only when you have reasonable certainty that they are committed to attending. At a minimum (if they are speakers coming from a different country) they need to have: A valid travel VISA for the Convention hosting country. All arrangements for the convention booked (flight tickets and Convention ticket paid if it has not been waived by the organization). For local speakers or workshop leads, you need to have their written commitment to attend. Sponsorship Convention organizers are free to decide what to offer potential sponsors, noting that since the sponsorship is limited to the Convention, so is the presence of the sponsor. In particular, Convention sponsors do not have access to any global Agora channels unless they additionally want to sponsor the Foundation as a whole. If that is the case, they should reach out separately to info at agoraspeakers.org.