“When will we see in person conferences again?
Will it happen in 2021?”

This is the million dollar question, isn’t it?

My answer is, probably not until Q1 of 2022.

Globally, we’ve started to see the most impacted individuals get vacinated. Presumably it will take at least another 6 months to get the majority of lesser impacted individuals (who opt to take the vaccine), vaccinated as well. Excluding any new variant of the COVID19 taking hold and we are left with Q4 of 2021 to Q1 of 2022 as the most likey options.

In addition to vaccine levels, countries and local jurisdictions might continue to put in place additional limits on how big events can get. So unless you are going to in-person workshops or small conferences, it could take even longer.

Virtual conferences are great, but… no one has found a way to replace the in-person experience. The networking. The dedicated time away from work and the rest of our lives to simply focus on this one thing. It’s hard to replicate that when the participants are sitting at their living room dining table.

In the meantime, prepare yourself for more virtual conferences.