Lessons to be Learned from the AFFHO Congress

WARNING: This article contains personal opinions.

As I mentioned in another article, the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations (AFFHO) "Congress" is now finished. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend this five-day event in Auckland, New Zealand, and must say that I learned a lot. In fact, I think there were a few lessons here for all genealogy conference organizers.

I have written before about the skyrocketing of attending genealogy conferences. It seems every year in the United States we hold national conferences in expensive convention centers with attendees staying at nearby hotels that charge exorbitant prices for rooms and meals and then pile on even more fees for parking, Internet access, and whatever else "the traffic will bear." The organizers in Auckland took a different approach, one that I think we all can learn from.

First of all, the Auckland event was not cheap. Indeed, registration was $395 New Zealand dollars (about $200 in U.S. dollars) for those who registered in advance. I believe that nearly everyone registered in advance; very few registered for the higher price at the door. For that price, the attendees received four days of presentations. The welcoming ceremony with cocktail party and the banquet dinner on the last evening were both extra-cost. The conference price is roughly the same or slightly higher than the admittance fees at major U.S. four-day conferences.

What fascinated me was the venue, the accommodations, and the various miscellaneous fees. The Congress was held at King's College, a boarding school for 13-to-18-year-old boys. This location proved to be an excellent facility for a genealogy conference. The lecture halls all had overhead projectors bolted to the ceilings, excellent projection screens at exactly the proper distance from the projectors, high-speed wired Internet access, and more. Several of the lecture halls were built as "lecture theaters" with sloping floors and theater-style seating for attendees/students. All of the lecture halls had excellent acoustics, and many had comfortable seats, not the hard seats I have sat on so many times in poorly ventilated convention centers. These lecture halls were perfect for the presentations.

However, I was even more impressed by the accommodations. Attendees had the option of staying in the college dormitories at very modest fees (typically less than $140 New Zealand dollars per night, about $75 U.S. dollars per night). That price included four breakfasts, four lunches and two dinners in the dining hall. The food was rather good. In addition, each dormitory had a "group kitchenette" with refrigerators, suitable for snacks and light lunches.

Parking was free, high-speed wireless or "wi-fi" Internet access was free in the dormitories, and there were no significant other expenses.

I was pleased with the accommodations at King's College. The excellent classroom facilities along with modest prices for food, lodging, parking, and Internet access provided a "cost-effective" conference for all attendees.

Indeed, this is not the first time that I have seen a college campus used for a genealogy conference. In May of 2008 I enjoyed a very similar arrangement at the Ontario Genealogical Society's annual conference in London, Ontario, and some years ago I stayed at a similar facility at the New Brunswick Genealogical Society's annual conference held that year in Moncton. I believe that conferences in England are sometimes held at colleges or universities as well, although I have not had an opportunity to see those for myself.

If the Canadians and the New Zealanders can hold cost-effective genealogy conferences at first-class facilities in colleges and universities, why can't Americans do the same?

Comments

[Randy Seaver]

Good summary, Dick.

How many were in attendance? How many from overseas (non-NZ)?

If college campuses were used, it would have to be between semesters or quarters. Perhaps only in the summer, since college dorms don't empty over breaks. That would limit the potential weeks for a conference.

[Wendy Howard]

Hi Randy,

There were about 450 people attending the conference, I was told. It is summer here, schools don't go back from the long summer holidays until next week (or the week after for some).

Must say, I agree with Dick's ravings - I had a fabulous time there! :-)

Wendy Howard
Kaiwaka, New Zealand

[Honey Ryan]

Do you think that the various organizations (notably, NGS and FGS; but others, too) would consider taking turns holding a conference, or hold joint conferences? My problem is that I want to attend all the conferences (and schools;, but, of course I can't afford to do that, time-wise or money-wise.

[Margo McKinstry]

This past August 2008, I had the opportunity to attend the Essex & Suffolk Family History Conference, held at the University of Essex in Colchester. My experience was also an excellent one. The accommodations were modest but adequate and many of the meals, including two banquets, were included. It was great fun to be walking a university campus again. I concur with Dick. This approach to managing conferences should be used more in the U.S. even if it does restrict times to summer. It's not that we don't have our fair share of beautiful and adequate campuses around the country.

[Linda Hurtubise]

I don't know about the States but here in Canada colleges/universities's spring semesters end in April. The students have four months off.
I attended the OGS conference last year (my first genealogical conference)and stayed in the college dorms. I took advantage of the reasonably priced dorms and stayed on for a few more days to do some research in the area.
I have attended many non-genealogical conferences so I know a good deal when I see one - OGS 2008 conference was one.

[Dick Eastman]

---> How many were in attendance?

About 450.

---> How many from overseas (non-NZ)?

I don't have a number but it was quite a few. Most were from New Zealand or Australia, however.

---> If college campuses were used, it would have to be between semesters or quarters. Perhaps only in the summer, since college dorms don't empty over breaks.

Exactly. It is summer here in New Zealand and the students were all on their summer holidays (which start at Christmas). We were blessed with beautiful weather.

- Dick Eastman

[Elyse]

I completely agree with you Dick. Honestly, if the conferences were held in cheaper places, I could probably afford to go.

[Chad]

Several genealogy conferences are held each year at Brigham Young University each year, two of which are sponsored by BYU, and one of which is sponsored by the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen). Usually, there is a small amount of space available in on-campus dormitories for those who want to stay there.

[Eileen Souza]

My husband and I toured Iceland for two weeks many years ago. They accommodate tourists in their boarding schools. We found this type of accommodation perfectly comfortable and everyone benefits. We're happy and the schools are bringing in some revenues during a time of non-use. I thought we didn't do that in the States because our culture of education is more intense and we tend to run classes and dorms through two summer sessions as well as two semesters or four quarters. This doesn't leave much time or vacancies to lease to conferences. I would like to see it though. I like to go to conferences for the learning experience and not to see how much money I can drop in expensive hotels.