Designing the Structure of a Hybrid Conference

This paper presents the conceptual and technical setups of the recent Rhythm, Production and Perception Workshop (RPPW) 2021 hybrid conference. For this conference, there were adaptations to accommodate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which has prevailed since 2020. Many academic conferences were cancelled because of logistical uncertainties and this one had to be redesigned. Such conditions challenge us to think beyond how we used to live. A hybrid conference can keep academic events and academics connected at a distance but they do alter the way interactions occur. During the 4-day RPPW conference, 300 attendees from more than 25 nations were helped to interact and to overcome time-zone differences. The conference consisted of presentations, live Q& A sessions, poster sessions, keynotes and 3 concerts. The main challenges were the (1)conference scheduling and (2)participation methods. The spatial and temporal conditions of a physical conference needed to be rethought in an intuitive way such that participants had as clear an idea of the structure of the event as possible. This demonstration invites further discussion on the potential of audiovisual communication and its socio-technical contribution to enriching human knowledge exchange, flexibility and hybrid social interaction.