Blog

Global Conference Postponement - April 8, 2020

 
MBA CSEA has made the difficult decision to postpone our 2020 Global Conference. The decision was made based on travel bans, general comfort level of our members, and the health and safety of our conference participants.

 


MBA CSEA leadership and conference volunteers have been watching the growth of COVID-19 very closely in light of its impact on our organizaton and our industry. In the past few weeks, we have tracked the impact on the United States and the New Orleans area, as well as captured feedback from our members regarding institutional travel bans and general comfort level with attending our Global Conference.With the health and safety of our members in mind, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the 2020 Global Conference. The new dates will be announced soon. Our 2021 Global Conference in Portland is continuing as planned. 

I speak for the entire Board of Directors and conference committees when I say that postponing our three conferences have been the most difficult decisions we have made as an organization. Our conferences bring people together from all over the world to share challenges, celebrate successes and support one another in meaningful ways. The face-to-face aspect of these exchanges is both comforting and energizing. It's ironic that the very things that bring us comfort and energy are keeping us from being safe during this unexpected and challenging situation.
 
These last few weeks and months have been challenging for all of us, as we navigate the world of remote work, remote learning and constant change. The amount of resilience shown by our members throughout this time has been both outstanding and inspiring. It's truly a pleasure to work with people who are so dedicated to their institutions and to this association.   
 
Just because our in-person interaction is limited doesn't mean our connections have to stop. We will continue to provide relevant and timely virtual events, such as round tables and webinars, and we are considering hosting a larger virtual event in lieu of the Global Conference. We also have a WhatsApp group (contact us for access) and our online community for members to communicate and share ideas. As your professional association, we want to hear how we can continue to serve your needs. Please let us know what else we could do.  
 
Thank you to all of our conference committee volunteers for their hard work putting together the programs and activities for these events. We look forward to finding new and creative ways to present this programming to all of you in the near future. Even though we are not connecting in person, we are still a family, and we are #StrongerTogether!

Megan Hendricks, Executive Director, MBA CSEA
and the MBA CSEA Board of Directors and 2020 Global Conference Committee

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