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The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. As part of its efforts, UNEP launched the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN), the first regional adaptation network that promotes and supports climate change adaptation. The Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum (APAN Forum) is its flagship event and brings together professionals in the climate change adaptation space from over 50 countries to discuss and address climate change issues. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event went virtual in 2020. UNEP, which had used Hubilo twice before, once again leveraged the platform for an engaging, successful event.
The organizers, the Ministry of the Environment Japan and the APAN Secretariat, needed a way to integrate speaker session streaming into their event platform so that attendees could not only watch speakers in real-time, but also engage with each other, event moderators, and the speakers themselves. To elevate the virtual experience, additional ways to keep people actively engaged in programming would be important given that attendees had originally expected to participate in a multi-faceted in-person event.
Hubilo’s integration with Zoom made it easy for APAN to incorporate the real-time streaming of speaker sessions that they needed. Hubilo’s structured, easy-to-navigate online agenda tab ensured attendees could get the most out of and customize their virtual forum experience, which included a stellar line-up of 40+ sessions, including parallel-running large group sessions, technical sessions, trivia, an origami workshop, and even karaoke.
APAN Forum organizers took advantage of several interactivity features within the Hubilo platform to foster interactions between delegates at the forum. One-on-one video meetings, rooms for group discussions, and themed lounge tables empowered delegates to meet, discuss, and work together to achieve greater partnerships for climate change adaptation actions.
Prestigious organizations and ministries also participated in the event and were offered premium virtual booths by the organizers. Hubilo’s Exhibitor Central solution allowed them to customize their booths and view detailed lead analytics on who visited, what actions the visitors took, and how they interacted with booth staff members. APAN’s virtual booths were visited over 6,000 times during the conference.
Overall, APAN Forum 2020 was a great success. The event advanced the mission of APAN, deepened discussions on international cooperation, and promoted climate change adaptation as an important way to address the climate crisis.
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