Arisia'21 is over. Please visit the new convention site: www.arisia.org.
Over the past seven months, the Eboard Con Chair Team, along with Assistant Con Chair Vivian Abraham and the Division Heads, have been working hard to determine what we need to recreate the Arisia experience in an online-only convention. Our first step was to make sure that Arisia is squared away with its hotel contract. Hotel liaison Wendy Verschoor, along with Eboard President Nicholas "Phi" Shectman, have been in talks with the Westin Boston Waterfront and Aloft regarding our Arisia 2021 contract. As of September 15, 2020 we were able to come to an agreement. We will not need to have a hotel presence this year, and our continuing contract with the Westin Boston Marriott and Aloft will resume in 2022
Based on the latest guidance from Massachusetts Governor Baker, the Con Chair team has determined that Arisia 2021 will almost certainly be a virtual convention. Because an online Arisia convention is new to all of us, Arisia staff are working around the clock to learn from other conventions gone virtual about what emerging best practice is. We are especially excited for staff and community who have attended virtual conventions to share with us your experiences. Share with us what you liked about the online con experience, or share what you found frustrating. Was it a bandwidth issue? Discussion format/moderator problem? We want to know and learn together!