I thought this was an excellent article in The Tyee and along with saving the environment it means that a more diverse group of people can attend.
An excerpt from the article:
Geoffrey Rockwell, professor at the University of Alberta and director of the Kule Institute for Advanced Study, has since 2013 been helping conduct a yearly Around the World Conference on carbon reduction that is live-streamed globally and archived online.
The original reason was the climate crisis. “Flying is one of the worst things you can do for the environment,” he told The Tyee.
But he said he’s discovered another key benefit — online conferences can be more diverse and inclusive.
“Every time I go to a conference in my field, it’s the same type of people,” he said. “It’s white men and women from first world universities that have budgets to send them.”
He said the virtual nature of the Around the World Conference allows him to include bright minds from all corners of the globe. In some cases, the academics could not have afforded to travel or would have been denied visas.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2020/03/25/Virus-Rethink-Academic-Conferences/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=250320
