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Overseas conferences For now, the hybrid variant only seems to be a serious option for global conferences, especially when many participants come from another continent. “It’s still a topic at international conferences, especially from a sustainability perspective,” says Derks. “The majority of conferences in the sector focus on sustainability issues, which often involves travelling around the world for a two- or three-day conference.” Klerkx shares that experience. The only two truly hybrid congresses Congress Care has planned are two global congresses in 2026. “Overseas trips are the first to get cancelled. Within Europe, people still consider it responsible to travel for a multi-day congress, with Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin being easily accessible by train. A flight to

“A professor who had travelled to Chicago also shared his experiences live from the confe rence. Nowadays, it’s easy to do using Zoom and a mobile phone, creating a lovely dynamic and resulting in a lively discussion. Participants told me that this setup gave them even more net hours of continuing education than if they had travelled to the United States.”

Barcelona is also still possible, but flying across the ocean for a conference is less common now.”

Satellite events A best-of-both-worlds solution could be to hold satellite events at the same time as the main conference, where local participants could watch and discuss online and have their in-per son networking moments. Klerkx experienced this situation for the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago. “About 50 to 60 people travelled to Schiermonnikoog and watched the livestream of the conference together. A local programme committee decided which sessions people could watch. In between, they could discuss among themselves.”

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