Chapter 3.2. Conferences: classification, types. Destinations

On completion of this chapter students should:

• understand the main terms

• learn special terms

Conference could be defined as:

• a formal meeting to discuss something

• a number of persons who have come or been gathered together

• an exchange of views

• a meeting of committees to settle differences between two legislative bodies

There are many synonyms but their meanings is slightly differ, for example:

1. A meeting for the exchange of views: colloquium, discussion, parley, seminar. Informal: powwow. Slang: rap session.

2. A number of persons who have come or been gathered together: assemblage, assembly, body, company, conclave, congregation, congress, convention, convocation, crowd, gathering, group, meeting, muster, troop. Informal: get-together.

3. A formal assemblage of the members of a group: assembly, congress, convention, convocation, meeting.

4. An exchanging of views: discussion, ventilation. Slang: rap.

5. An exchange of views in an attempt to reach a decision: consultation, counsel, deliberation, parley.

There are many different types of conference and meeting though, and the boundaries merge a great deal. They are:

Public Conferences

A public conference is one where it is up to the organisers of the conference to attract people to attend. There may be a charge levied on attendees to cover the cost of the conference or it may be free, if the expenses are being paid for by the conference holders. They are often held to get people in a certain work sector together to discuss new development and to do business with each other.

In some cases a public conference will be held purely to make money from the people paying to attend. In this case there will be a lot of focus on advertising and marketing the conference to attract paying customers. Conferences that are free to attend are usually either government sponsored, to facilitate some knowledge sharing, or to get a particular group of people together, or they are paid for by a company that has a product to promote.

Conferences with Exhibitions

These are usually public conferences but they will have an exhibition attached where people can view new products and meet suppliers. In some cases it's not clear whether the conference is supporting the exhibition or the other way around, but the difference from a pure public conference is that there are likely to be a number of short seminars or speakers throughout the days of the conference.

Attendees will be free to attend the seminars and wander the exhibitions in an order that suits them, so catering and management of other facilities will need to be more flexible than with a straight conference. These conferences are often sold to attendees on the basis of the business networking that they can achieve, meeting all suppliers in one place and seeing what work they are doing.

Internal Company Meetings

Private conferences are often held when large companies need to get all their employees, or certain sections, together to either celebrate a success or start a new initiative. In companies that are widespread across the globe they are often held to update staff on new initiatives or to inform about new products and staff. Members of the public would not be allowed to attend.

Private conferences can afford to be a little more prescriptive about arrangements since employees of one company can be controlled a little more directly than the attendees of a public conference.