This year's 600 registered participants surpasses the 400 in attendance at last year's conference. Linda Troyer, whose company is an in-kind sponsor of the conference, served on the planning committee for the virtual conference. One reason that people in all walks of life are able to participate is that admission is free. Fees would keep some people away. Most of the conversation takes place asynchronously, to allow participants to proceed at their own pace.
People are welcome to join the conference at any time.
The conference itself is organized into topic strands, covering community learning, faith, the environment, health, business, and education. Within each strand are weekly focus topics, such as Cancer and Early Detection, Family-Owned Businesses, and Partners in Interfaith Dialogue. The Open Mic strand is a take-off of the Open Space conference in CivicNet. Personal support and written guidelines will be available for those who have not moderated electronic discussion groups before Conference participant Mark Champion is enthusiastic about the electronic format. I enjoy dialogue and I enjoy it much more when I can think and write my responses.