I came in contact with conference culture when I entered university. Naiveté being at its peak in those last teen years, I attended workshops and conferences with extreme zeal. I would reach on time, stay till the end and religiously note down important points being mentioned by each speaker. I actually believed in the notion that words have the power to change the world. I still do, but only when used in the right way for the right people.
In past four years I have had a chance to attend conferences of different nature, from those organized by students as an assignment to those held by well known organizations in the capital city. All but had the same features, only differing in the grandeur of venue and menu.
Funds:
Be it students who toil for weeks to get sponsorships for their event or big organizations paying for the expenses from their annual budget, the amount spent is often almost a waste of resources. Much of the expenses are image related. The venue, the hotel, the food, the backdrop, the recreational activities. It clearly is done to give incentive to the audience to attend. A lot can be inferred now about the power of words.
Audience:
The people that show up at the conferences have their own story to tell. Once I came across a young girl who proclaimed in an honest manner that she applied for the workshop cum conference only to get days away from work and come visit Islamabad. Some have a more long term aim of making contacts with other well established professionals in the field for better career prospects. All in all its driven by more by self interest than any altruistic motive.
Outcome:
No doubt one would always find in such conferences people who truly are there with pure intentions. But does that make a difference. I mean, the amount of resources put into the event cannot be justified with the idea that we have to learn today to implement later. Most of the people attending these conferences are from a background where learning, getting access to information is not an issue. They usually are mature enough to have prior understanding of the topic being discussed during the event. A little stirring up of piled up knowledge in the brain cells is all that takes place in the auditorium with end result being a return back to normal work schedule with perhaps some more new 'ideas'.
I may sound here like pointing finger at those who hold conferences, and yes that is exactly what I mean to do. In a country like ours, holding such events is utter misuse of resources that are already scarce. I mean seriously, if just one person attending the conference in Islamabad from Karachi can cost the host around Rs. 75,000, I can only imagine what will be the total expense of an entire event. I am sure you can come up with 'ideas' of how this money could have been used in a more productive way.
