Introducing the Conference Project
Lamberto Franco is a Level 2 Judge from Firenze, Italy and the Conference Project Team Lead. He is an experienced judge that has been part of several large scale events across various games and publishers.
Hello readers! We believe that education is one of the most important aspects of a healthy Judge Program. That is why we wanted to work on a new tool to add to our arsenal to improve sharing information and transmitting knowledge among judges: the Conference Project.
Since my nomination a few weeks ago, I’ve been working behind the curtains together with LSS and other Judges, to improve the Conference system.
Our main objective right now is to improve the general quality of conferences and presentations. We’re working on an amazing training program, and on standardizing procedures for presenter selections, feedback collection, etc. This will allow presenters and organizers to receive high quality feedback, improving the general quality of conferences over time.
More news on this will come as we move through the process. Stay tuned!
Today I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight the general process of conference application and support, to give you more clarity on our philosophy, and the goals we want to achieve.
How to Apply to Organize a Conference
Any certified Judge can apply to organize a conference. You can do so through this link.
We process applications once a month, so you should apply at least 8 weeks before the preferred conference date. This will give us enough time to process your application, and also gives you enough time to announce it and organize it once you receive approval.
When you apply, it’s very important for us to receive as many details as possible, especially regarding the characteristics of your expected audience, and the educational target of your conference. We really want every conference to be a well designed, customized learning opportunity.
Generally speaking, we aim to have at least 1 conference per area, per year. In absence of applications, we might reach out directly to the local JCR and experienced judges, to support them in organizing one.
Organizer Responsibilities
For each conference, the organizer is responsible for:
- Opening a public application on Judgehub, that includes both presenters and attendees (external forms can be used for presenters).
- Selecting the presenters and the topics based on the attendees needs and scope of the conference.
- Announcing the selected presenters and seminar topics and timings, directly on the Judgehub event page, ideally at least 2 weeks before the conference.
- Fostering a positive and inclusive environment, encourage and collect feedbacks on presenters and organizers.
- Taking care of presenters and attendees, ensuring people have an enjoyable experience at the conference.
- Tracking attendance and ensuring that the staff on the Judgehub event reflects it (removing any people that applied but couldn’t attend, and adding any attendees that didn’t apply). Presenters should be clearly labeled as presenters on the staff of the event.
- Returning any leftover Judge support packs (further information on this process will be shared directly with each organizer).
Tiers of Support
All of the support explained beyond is to be intended as a recognition gift, provided by LSS as a thank you for Judge activities. None of this support is to be intended as compensation, entitlement, or guarantee. The quantities, type and specifics of the support can change at any time, without prior notice.
Conferences Attached to Premier Events
We strive to hold a Conference at each Calling, generally on the Friday morning before the event starts (with the current setup of Callings, might change in the future). These kinds of conferences are a great opportunity for judges attending the event (as players, or staff) to attend some cool seminars.
These conferences are generally quite short (2-3 seminars) and only receive support for Presenters and Organizers (2 packs each for the current season).
In case these conferences are on a single day before the event (that would require an extra travel day to attend), the support would be extended to the Attendees too (similarly to the World Championship or PT Conferences this year).
So far, some standalone Battle Hardened events had also a conference happening in the same weekend. We’re not opposed to make these happen in specific cases, for example if it makes sense for them to be the standalone conference for that region.
Please don’t assume that all Battle Hardened will have a conference attached, as we’ll be reviewing them case by case.
Online Conferences
Online Conferences can happen over the course of a few days, or on a single day, through a communication platform that allows all participants to follow the conference closely. We will mostly approve these for remote areas (where it’s hard to gather). We’re also open to very cool proposals of Conferences online in more connected areas, but we’ll generally try to promote in-person gatherings at this time.
These conferences receive support for Presenters and Organizers (2 packs each of the next season). The support gets shipped at the start of the new season, directly to the people that should receive it.
Regional Standalone Conferences
These will be the most common conferences that we’ll have on schedule. These conferences are Standalone (not directly connected to an event), and are catered towards a local/regional/national attendance.
As mentioned above, we aim to have at least one of these conferences per area, per year. In absence of applications, we might reach out directly to the local JCR and experienced judges, to support them in organizing one.
These conferences would receive support for Attendees (1 pack each for the current season), Presenters and Organizers (2 packs each for the current season).
Cross-Regional Standalone Conferences
These kinds of conferences will be few per year, and will be organized to attract an international crowd. These will be somewhere convenient to reach and well logistically supported, to be able to allow as many people to attend as possible.
We recommend organizing these conferences in cooperation with the Judge Community Representatives and their Leads, to better cater the needs of the various region’s growth.
As these conferences are very special and will require longer to organize, and further travel to attend, they’ll receive premium support for Attendees (2 packs each for the current season), Presenters and Organizers (4 packs each for the current season).
To Summarize, the types of Conferences are:
- Regional Standalone: unconnected to an event, catered towards a local attendance. Support for attendees, presenters and organizers.
- Cross-Regional Standalone conferences: internationally relevant, broader reach and solid logistics. Organized in cooperation with JCRs and Leads. Premium support for Attendees, presenters and organizers.
- Premier Events: connected to a premier event, support for presenters and organizers. If on a single separate day, also for Attendees.
- Online: for remote areas, or very interesting proposals. Support for presenters and organizers (shipped next season).
- Special by LSS: directly organized with LSS, premium support, globally relevant.
Extras
For all of the above, we’re happy to evaluate proposals of specific needs for additional support (venue support, travel support, etc.) that will be approved case by case.
We’re also working on special conferences, organized directly with LSS, for each geo-region. The Conference in Vienna earlier this year was an example of these.
Wrapping Up
This feels like enough information for today. We will publish more articles in the future to present our further developments.
I’d like to thank Gerard Trpin, Matteo Callegari and Ben Petrila for the insights and support provided so far.
I’d also like to reiterate that all of the support explained in this article is to be intended as a gift, provided by LSS as a thank you for Judge activities. None of this support is to be intended as compensation, entitlement, or guarantee. The quantities, type and specifics of the support can change at any time, without prior notice.
If you have any questions for our team, you can contact us anytime at conferences@fabjud.ge.
Looking forward to see you at future events!
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