- Our participation process
- How to be a good panelist
- How to be a good moderator
- How to use Zambia
- Participation for professionals
- Participatory music information
- Meetup information
- Help us brainstorm for next year
Attending Programs at Arisia 2021
Arisia 2021 is offering more than 100 panels, meetups, song-circles, and sing-alongs virtually! These panels are being hosted -- live -- all on Zoom! Here are a few important things to know as a participant this year:
- As with an in-person convention, you need to be registered for Arisia 2021 to have access to programming.
- This year’s panels are running 55 minutes, instead of 75 minutes, with 35 minutes between sessions. This gives program participants time to make sure all of the technical pieces are working for the next session, hopefully minimizing technical disruptions.
- Zoom chat is reserved for technical problems, which the Zoom Host will assist with. If you are having a technical issue with Zoom, please mention that in the Zoom chat.
- Q&A from Rooms 1-5 and all conversations should happen in the corresponding room channel on the Arisia Discord server. For example, if you are attending a panel in Room 1, ask questions and participate in the conversation in #room-1 under Programming and Events.
- Q&A for Room 6 should happen in the Zoom Q&A (not Zoom chat). Conversations should still haven in #room-6.
- Discord panel discussion rooms are open for a panel from the start of that panel to the start of the following panel (90 minutes). After that, you will be asked to take the discussion elsewhere.
- Participatory music sessions and Meetups work a little differently; we recommend visiting those pages for more information.
Participating in Programs at Future Arisias
Arisia Programming consists of over 400 hours of panels and workshops each year for in-person conventions. This requires many talented individuals to brainstorm, organize, schedule, and participate -- over 350 people on average.
If you would like to learn more about how to join the team as a Program Participant, you can read more about our participation process and fill out our Program Participation form. We typically consider applications received by July 15 for the coming year’s convention (e.g., forms received by July 15, 2021 will be considered for Arisia 2022).
Participation Benefits
When in-person, we compensate our talent in the following ways:
- Memberships: If you are selected for three panels, you get a complimentary weekend membership. If you are selected for one or two panels, you get a complimentary day membership for each of the days your panels run, with the option to upgrade to a full weekend membership at a discounted rate.
- Green Room: We take pride in our Green Room, which serves three meals daily and snacks throughout the convention. This hospitality suite is limited to Program, Event, and Gaming participants and Arisia Staff.
If you are selected as a panelist, we have a few handy guides to help you navigate our process. We use a custom scheduling tool -- Zambia -- which you can learn more about in our How to Use Zambia guide. Our How to be a good panelist and How to be a good moderator guides and, for music lovers, our Participatory music information guide, offer a bit more insight into the various roles program participants fill at Arisia.
As much as we would like to, we can’t guarantee panelist assignments. Even the most awesome and talented panelists may not get their most favored assignment due to a wide variety of variables.
At-Con Programming Assistance: Program Nexus
At convention, Programming is run from the Program Nexus; this year that is located virtually on Discord: #program-nexus under Member Services.
In the Nexus, staff are available to help Program Participants solve last-minute issues and perform other Program-related tasks. Please stop in and ask us Arisia programming-related questions!