Academy Week Menu
Watch Parties

 

Host a watch party during ANH2022! This year’s 7th annual Agriculture, Nutrition and Health (ANH) Academy Week 2022 will be held virtually (via Zoom) from Monday 20 June - Thursday 30 June 2022. The main conference proceedings will be held online again due to ongoing Covid-related uncertainties. However, we encourage your institution to convene a watch party, an in-person gathering with colleagues in the same country/city to attend the Academy Week Research Conference together. We hope this guidance is useful if your institution is considering hosting a watch party. 

 

What is a watch party? 

A watch party provides a communal space where the online Academy Week sessions can be streamed live for members of the ANH community to watch together in-person.  We have taken inspiration from the Planetary Health Alliance, who tried this format in 2021 with great effect.

 

Where are watch parties currently planned for, and how do you join one?

 

Why should your institution organise a watch party?

Hosting a watch party could provide your institution and colleagues in your city (or nearby):

  • A fun atmosphere to attend ANH2022 together in-person
  • Networking opportunities to meet future collaborators, mentors and mentees
  • Space to discuss and develop research ideas with the ANH community 

Despite having great feedback for the conference in 2021 (86% of respondents rated it excellent or very good), we know many people have missed the opportunities for in-person interaction provided in past years when we have hosted the Academy Week in person. We hope that working with you to organise watch parties around the world will help to enhance the conference experience.

 

How to host a watch party:

The watch party host institution will need to provide a room, ideally with a large screen for shared viewing and microphones, but otherwise with enough space for attendees to watch conference sessions on laptops. They may also convene focused discussions and networking opportunities before or after the watch party.

During the watch party, the watch party organisers should dial in to the ANH2022 sessions live on Zoom so the attendees can listen, watch and interact by speaking and using the chatbox.

The watch party hosting team should also organise a test session 2-3 days before your watch party so that your technology setup is ready to go.

See below for more guidance and ideas for hosting a watch party.

 


Institutions interested in convening an ANH2022 Watch Party in their city should complete this webform.

Any queries are welcome and can be directed to the ANH Academy team ([email protected]).


 

Support the ANH Academy can provide to watch party host institutions:

  • Promotion: We will help advertise your watch party event on the ANH Academy website, newsletter and on social media.
  • Technical support: The ANH Academy team will be running all sessions during ANH2022 and will be on hand to help you as needed, for example if attendees at your watch party would like to speak or ask any questions.
  • Small grants: For academic institutions who require it, we can provide a limited number of 10 small grants to enable watch parties to take place. These funds can support venue and equipment hire, internet data bundles, catering and other small expenses. Priority will be given to academic institutions and funds will be awarded based on a rolling basis according to geographical balance. 

 

Managing Zoom and audience Q&A:

  • During the watch parties, attendees will be encouraged to pose questions or comments to the speakers at each conference session held online on Zoom. Watch party organisers can decide how they would like to manage audience questions. In general, we recommend you make a clear plan for how participation and Q&A on Zoom will be managed.
    • One idea is that attendees could write their questions on sticky notes and pass them to a member of the hosting team who will collate them and then either ask them aloud via Zoom, or type them into the Zoom chatbox.
    • Another idea is that when attendees at your watch party raise their hands to ask a question, the watch party hosts can pass them a microphone so they can ask their question aloud. 
  • The ANH Academy team will be on hand on Zoom to help unmute your watch party room as needed and make sure the questions are posed.
  • Both live and online audience members can introduce themselves by stating their names, institution and area of interest before asking their question/comment.
  • Please ensure that the Q&A also adheres to the time given in the program.

 

Internet connection and Zoom settings:

  • For good internet connection, stream directly using a wired Ethernet connection instead of Wi-Fi, if possible. This connection type is less likely to experience bandwidth fluctuations than shared networks or Wi-Fi.
  • A good benchmark is to ensure that you have twice the upload speed available (10 Mbp+ upload speed)
  • Test if your microphone is working by clicking the arrow next to the “Mute” button, clicking “Test Microphone & Speaker” and then following the Zoom instructions.
  • Test if your webcam is working by clicking the arrow next to the “Stop/Start Video” button and clicking “Video Settings”.
  • Optimise how your video feed looks:
    • Lighting should be bright and even and preferably come from in front of you. Lighting should never be behind you, to avoid casting shadows on your face. 
    • Your background should not be distracting.
    • Try to look at your camera instead of a screen or paper. This will give the effect of eye contact and visual engagement. Use the gestures and mannerisms that you would typically use in person. 

 

Power:

  • The size of production will dictate the amount of power required and if other components such as lights, audio and encoders are on the same circuit, the probability of power failure is very likely.
  • To prevent a circuit overload, ensure that the lights, audio and encoders are on different circuits. This will ensure that you have sufficient power to live stream without power failure.
  • Plan to have UPS power (uninterruptible power supply) as a back-up in-case power goes down. This would ensure that your live stream would not fail completely if one of the circuits fails.
  • Plan to have extra power cables to be used for all miscellaneous electronic items. This is just in case most power outlets will be in use for production.

 

Registration:

Registration for the Academy Week is open now - please register here if you haven’t already. Watch party hosts are required to register for the Academy Week as soon as possible, especially if you would like to attend our Learning Labs that are scheduled during the first week of ANH2022 (20 - 23 June). More information about the conference can be found here.