WebConference Software: Discussion Edition

Post date: 2021-05-04 08:26:45

What platform(s) would be suitable for an online conference that mostly consists of 10-50 person facilitated discussions?

We're helping organize the online version of a conference for Bike Collectives. (A bunch of non-profits that are mostly run by volunteers and often have anarchist/consensus-based roots.)

The live conference is normally a 2-day event, usually with 4-5 workshops running simultaneously at any given time. Most of the workshops are group discussion led by a facilitator. The facilitator brings questions, keeps the conversation moving, and reminds people to stick to the ground rules. Often someone else will "keep stack" - keep track of the list of people who want to speak next.

This conference has a history of striving for language justice and accessibility, so the automatic captions in Google Meet would be a huge bonus. Unfortunately, convincing everyone to get a Google account could be a major hurdle.

We may be able to pay for tech, but this isn't a community that has a whole lot of spare cash and we'd rather spend money on things like having translators.

Bonus question: Traditionally, the conference ends with a wrap-up event that everyone attends. A platform that can handle 100+ people at once, taking turns talking, would be neat if it's possible.

What online conference / video chat / etc. platforms have features including:
- suitable for facilitated group discussions, not just solo presenters or small panels
- automatic captioning and/or facilities to support live translation
- doesn't require that every attendee set up an account
- good usability, even for people who aren't very tech-savvy

Please click Here to read the full story.