Meet us at AIIP21
By Jan Sykes
The 2021 AIIP Annual Conference Committee invites members and non-members to become part of something new to AIIP—a virtual conference held over two and a half days in April. We have an amazing line up of speakers focusing on themes that are highly relevant to independent information professionals. While we will miss the vibe and energy of meeting in person, we are grateful that technology allows us to put safety first. We are confident that we are creating an equally engaging online conference experience.
When beginning to plan for the 2021 annual conference, we were hopeful that members could meet in St. Louis, Missouri, to enjoy the networking, learning, and serendipitous conversations that AIIP annual conferences have offered for more than 30 years. When it became clear that we could not count on safely meeting in person, we switched to researching options for a fully virtual conference. We consulted with colleagues, scoured websites and sat through numerous demos of software products that would allow us to design and host the conference ourselves, and platforms in which the technology is managed by the provider so we as AIIP conference planners could focus on the programming. The decision to work with Zakia Ringgold of Virtual Experience Design Agency was unanimous, and we are enthusiastic about this collaboration.
The program planning team—June Boyle, Richard Hulser and Kathy Porter—has designed a program that offers stellar content with plenty of networking times and breaks interspersed. The program features AIIP presenters and three invited speakers. We guarantee that you will be challenged and inspired to think creatively about new business strategies and capabilities—whether it is managing your business more effectively, developing more productive interactions with clients and potential clients, experimenting with voice marketing, making the most of change, or understanding large data sets. Our keynote speaker will discuss turning adversity into action; her insights should be motivating in light of experiences related to the pandemic in 2020. You will also learn from sponsors about products that can enhance your business offering. Recognized AIIP experts will present three workshops in the months prior to the conference rather than during the day prior to the conference as in the past.
A benefit of meeting virtually is that there is no limit to the number of persons who can attend—no matter where one is in the world. We welcome AIIP members who have not yet attended in-person conferences and non-members who are curious about AIIP. If you cannot attend every session live, the recorded content will be available to registered attendees for 12 months following the conference. The registration fee is only US$ 225.00 until January 31, 2001 and US$ 255.00 after that.
We look forward to meeting many of you during our conference!
Jan Sykes, conference planning committee chair, is principal and founder of Information Management Services, Inc, an independent consultancy focused on strategic planning for information and knowledge management initiatives.
