I have always really liked the concept of conferences. It isn’t often that passionate professionals with all different kinds of experiences gather together to share and discuss a common interest, much less for several days. I met some incredible people with similar professional interests as me in the climate sphere at some of the previous conferences I had been to, so when I heard that my host organization, the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), was hosting an international conference in celebration of its 40th anniversary, I was excited to see what opportunities the event would present. In line with CEE’s mission, the conference, titled “Educating for Sustainability Action” (ESA), would highlight the role of education in bringing about positive change in the climate and sustainability sectors. This time, however, I would be in a different role than usual—I was part of a team helping to coordinate the logistics and events.
I had previously been on the planning side of a conference last year, when I co-led the annual Student Peace Conference for the Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. The smaller scale of the conference meant that my two co-leaders and I, under the guidance and support of our incredible supervisor and others who worked at the institute, were able to manage the logistics, design, coordination, and execution of the conference among ourselves with only limited external support. However, ESA would be a larger-scale event, bringing together hundreds of delegates from around the world to deliver dozens of sessions in the halls of our campus. My responsibilities felt much more laser-focused than what I had done for my previous role, and I was curious what the differences between these two experiences would be.
In hindsight, I can confidently say that my former conference managing experience and my work in ESA were very different! I’m honestly appreciative of that, as I feel I learned more from having a unique experience. Since the conclusion of the event, I have thought more deeply about my insights from the conference and distilled them into the following points:
1. Adaptability is Key: What do you do when the WiFi in your conference room cuts out just minutes before the online session you are hosting? Situations like these were frequent occurrences while we were coordinating the logistics behind the scenes. It was impossible to predict what might be needed to keep a session running in a given moment, so being adaptable at a moment’s notice was key to success. Some moments felt very much like we were living the age-old adage of “the show must go on”—rushing around and managing several tasks to make sure the session started on-time without any disruption. The experience gave me an even deeper appreciation for event planners and managers; I can only wonder what kind of work they have to do to keep things running smoothly!
2. Life is better with a strong team: While we had worked well as a team before, the conference really solidified my comfort and confidence in collaborating with my coworkers on a shared project. We all made sure to contribute what we could, and when we did not have the capacity to complete something ourselves, others would cheerfully volunteer their support. Given our role in facilitating the conference’s operation, our presence was less rooted in meeting other professionals and participating sessions and more in doing logistics work. Our mutual support for each other and our camaraderie helped to ground me during those days and filled in the gap of person-to-person interaction that I felt I had been missing in not being able to participate as deeply in the conference’s discussion spaces.
3. Find Peace in the Small Things: Given all of the tasks we had to do to keep the events running smoothly, those couple of days felt less like a conference and more like a hectic and extremely busy day at work. What kept me going steady during all of the chaos were the small moments of peace, comfort, and happiness I was able to find. For example, I really appreciated the chai breaks between each session, not only for the lull of calm it brought but also because of the camaraderie I felt during it. The cafe on CEE’s campus that we often go to for lunch catered most of the conference meals and chai, so the bhaiyas working there immediately recognized us. They would ask us how we were holding up and made sure to take care of us, actions that I was deeply grateful for. I also found peace in the group meals we would share as a team, where we could easily chat and debrief the day’s events. It was in these moments that my belonging in this community resonated deeply within me, and I realized just how comfortable I had become with my life here in Ahmedabad.
Even though it was certainly a busy time, I look fondly back at the days of the conference. I’m grateful for how it brought me closer together with my coworkers, and I learned some really incredible things from the sessions we supported. It’s made me really look forward to the next conference I will attend—or maybe even plan!
