Patterns & Metaphors
Conference time design
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The time design of the conference creates a balance between the agenda and the time it will require and the celebrational life, free time for personal contacts and other non-agenda time. Each conference has its own rhythm. Some schedules must be loose because the important factor of the event is personal contact among delegates. Others are a focused flow of plenary sessions, in which participants expect to work as a whole group.
In relation to the time designing of a conference, an appropriate balance should be sought between the "continuity" of similar uses of time and the "discontinuity" of different kinds of time. This is in fact as true within a single session as in the overall time design of the event. Think through the expectations of the group, and then look over the whole flow from the perspective of mood. If there are extreme imbalances of kinds of time, like two heavy working days and two very open days, it is best to even them out. Then also, ensure that the time of important plenary or decision-making sessions is free enough before and after so that attendance will be ensured and the group as prepared for it as possible. Do not, for example, expect to start the major reporting session early in the morning the day after the big night out on the town. Many time issues are resolved ahead of time by careful thinking through of the experience of participants going through the time allotted.
