PREDSEDOVANJE EU 2008 EU Presidency 2008 PREDSTAVITEV ...

Technological Trends
Communications and
Technology at Conferences
In Slovenia and
throughout the world
the number of the
various types of meetings
has been growing in
recent years and new
conference and congress
hotels are springing up.
Despite increased
financial problems linked
to their construction
and operation, each
conference centre must
meet defined standards
for the quality execution
of conference meetings.
Modern technology enables us to organise the most complex
conferences in smaller venues with the aid of remote communication
technology. The internet and its capacity to transfer data, sound and
images, allows us to virtually connect participants all over the world
with those in a hall in real time. This option is predominantly used for
distance learning, for example the transmission of lectures, especially
medical ones. Technology also allows important lecturers, who are,
as a rule, over-booked, to give virtual lectures at conferences around
the world. A short time ago, one could feel an exceedingly strong
trend towards such ‘distance’ communications leading to conference
designers asking themselves whether meetings would still be
necessary. Luckily, this is not the case, for technology cannot replace
the human handshake and the exchange of experience. This means that
technology must only be used as an aid in organising conferencćs. Let
me just ˇriefly cover the last twelve years. Older professors remember
the overhead transparencies, slides and dry-wipe boards with nostalgia.
The organisation of lectures at that time required good logistics and
lecturers handed their material over to the technical personnel with
fear, never sure if the right picture would appear in the right place or
if they would even get their slides back. Luckily, computers appeared
and, with them, digital projectors. Projectors are so user-friendly
today that lecturers no longer need to worry about how to project
their presentations. They can calmly devote themselves to the content,
which can now be corrected just before the lecture, and they can
quickly create back-ups on various media just in case.
Advances in technological equipment are reducing the lecturers’
responsibility for the display of their presentations as far as possible. This
means that projectors can be used reliably and in a versatile manner. They
do not require advance setup and they are capable of projecting pictures
from any type of media. In addition to projection technology, progress is
also being made in communication between participants and lecturers
and communication with the outside world throughout the conference.
In summary, technology enables wider communication. In this column,
we will endeavour to touch on novelties that are recognised on the market
as well as new trends that may perhaps never be used. In short, we will
cover several topics, which will be presented in future issues:
Communications technology
• audio conferencing and translation systems,
• IP technology and the internet,
• projection and other AV technologies,
• software for organising conferences and events,
• interaction during conferences,
• video conferencing systems for transmitting live pictures,
• technology for informing participants,
• interesting news from the world of communication ‘toys’.
We cordially invite manufacturers and representatives to publish their
novelties in this column, contributing their share.
Boris Vrhovec, Auditoria
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