There was much disappointment with the cancellation of the 2020 Congress, so we all felt that it was important to host a congress in 2021. Although we were anxious at the prospect of hosting SASTA’s first virtual congress, the support provided by Turners Conferences gave us the confidence to take the leap into the world of virtual reality.

The first virtual SASTA Congress was hosted from 17 – 19 August 2021 on the Hubilo conference platform. The recorded presentations and discussions were available to all registered delegates until 26 August 2021. Over 400 delegates from 15 countries registered for the 2021 SASTA Congress. The plenary session received the highest online attendance with 303 delegates and all other Agriculture and Factory sessions had more than 150 attendees.

There were several pros and cons to the virtual congress experience. Some of the pros included participation in a world-class conference from the comfort of your home office; reduced registration fees; no time wasted commuting to and from the conference venue; no missed presentations (access to recordings up to a week after the conference) and enough time to peruse all the poster presentations. Some of the cons included missing the vibe of an in-person conference; the inability to network effectively and catch up with colleagues over that cup of coffee or delicious ICC catering; missing out on the exhibition experience, and the authors’ dinner; and some technical glitches with the virtual platform.

SASTA would like to thank all exhibitors and sponsors for their participation in the first virtual congress. Although the virtual stage is not a favoured platform of engagement for the SASTA Congress exhibitors as they miss out on the one-on-one delegate interactions, their support was unwavering and we are grateful for their willingness to be part of this new experience. We dearly hope that we have the opportunity to welcome and thank you in person at the 2022 Congress. According to the poll run at the 2021 congress, 90% of the delegates gave us an overall score of 7/10 or higher for their overall virtual experience. SASTA would, however, prefer to host an in-person congress and 77% of the delegates are in support of this. Dear SASTA delegate, thank you for your continued support and we hope to see you in person at the 94th SASTA Congress later this year.

 

 

By Sumita Ramgareeb
Chair, SASTA Conference Organising Committee
SASRI Resource Manager, Breeding & Field Unit