AIHce 2013 Logs 900 Virtual Attendees
The number represents more than 25 percent of the people attending the conference in person, not counting exhibitors.
MONTREAL -- AIHA and ACGIH officials say this year's conference is a success in terms of attendance, partly because virtual attendance amounted to 900 people. The total number of people attending in person is about 5,000, which includes 3,200 non-exhibitors, said Peter O'Neil, executive director of the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
Virtual attendance at this and other events is certain to grow in the years ahead, O'Neil and other officials from both AIHce sponsoring organizations said during a Tuesday news conference here. The challenge, they said, will be making the virtual experience as rich and engaging as the in-person interactions, both for the educational sessions and the exposition hall. Making the virtual attendees' contacts with exhibitors equivalent to in-person meetings won't be easy, but the staffs of both associations are discussing how to accomplish it, O'Neil said.
Next year's AIHce will take place May 31-June 5 in San Antonio.