A GLOBAL MEETING POINT FOR BUSINESS AS MISSION
CONGRESS NOW ONLINE IN 2020 & 2021!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ONLINE CONGRESS MAIN EVENT, PRE-SERIES & POST-SERIES
PROGRAM & WHAT’S INCLUDED
WHAT IS THE PROGRAM FOR THE CONGRESS 2021?
The BAM Global Congress is now online. The situation around the world is challenging, but our mission to invigorate the global BAM movement remains the same!
The Congress is committed to:
- Provide a global meeting point for the BAM movement
- Strengthen all parts of the BAM ecosystem
- Add value to the BAM community with unique content
- Create forums for discussion, deal-making, and network-building
An online event, less constrained by time and place, allows us to be more creative. The result is a virtual BAM Global Congress main event in April framed by a series of lead in and follow up events that make the most of the new format.
PRE-SERIES
The Pre-series of webinars will begin at the end of October 2020 and run through to March 2021. Each month in October, November, January, February and March there will be a cluster of three webinars on key topics for the BAM community, on consecutive days towards the end of each month. In December there will be no webinars, but a series of hosted online meet-ups and activities for network groups.
MAIN EVENT
The Congress Main Event online will run over three days from 28 to 30 April 2021. Each day will have a particular theme with plenary sessions, discussion times, and breakouts. Each Main Stage (plenary) block will be repeated for different time zones, so that the vast majority of attendees around the world can take part live during sociable hours.
Click on image to open full size schedule
Detailed Speaker and Session information will be up on the website Congress Program page in early April. We have over 100 contributors to the Congress program, including plenary speakers, fireside chat guests, breakout speakers, breakout panelists and roundtable facilitators!
Please note that the Congress isn’t a ‘personality driven’ event where the main draw is one or two keynote speakers. Instead the Congress is a unique gathering of the global BAM community, with every continent and type of organisation represented. There will be dozens of key leaders sharing and multiple business stories on each day – many are not ‘well known names’, but are faithful servants with years of BAM experience behind them!
Please read more about how the program will work across time zones and convert start times into your zone in the question below.
POST-SERIES
The Post-series of workshops and meet-ups will run from May to July 2021. The program for these online events is yet to be finalised, but will include practical equipping workshops and panels, to cover practical BAM topics for every stage of the BAM journey.There will also be continued networking events and meet-ups to enable you to continue to collaborate with others. The goal is to create on-ramps and connections.
>> Please read more about the new format on our Program Page
WHAT TIME WILL EVENTS START? HOW WILL THE PROGRAM WORK ACROSS TIME ZONES?
The Pre-Congress Webinars and Post-Congress Workshops/Meetups will generally begin at 13:00 or 14:00 UTC, depending on the month, so that it is morning in the Americas, daylight hours in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and evening in Asia, to enable most of the world to attend in waking hours. We do recognise that timing of the webinars is difficult for those in the Pacific, and we apologise for that. However, we are recording every webinar, as well as the main Congress sessions, so if you miss out on attending live for any reason, the recorded content will be available to all ticket holders after the event.
For the main BAM Global Congress event from 28th to 30th April 2021, the program will include a main block of Main Stage (plenary) content each day, just like at an in-person event. We will broadcast this Main Stage content live twice during each day, once in social hours for the Eastern hemisphere and then repeated in sociable hours for the Western Hemisphere. Please note: this repeat will not be recordings, but a live broadcast for a second time so that the majority attendees can benefit from live interaction during sociable hours for them. We will have a joint schedule for breakouts in the middle of the two plenary blocks, starting at 13:00 UTC. See time zone converter below.
Click on image to open full size schedule
The East-friendly Main Stage schedule will be late afternoon and evening in Asia and is designed to be in sociable hours for most of the eastern hemisphere. This will then be repeated live for the West-friendly Main Stage schedule. The West schedule will be during the morning and early afternoon in the Americas, depending on your time zone, and in sociable hours for most of the western hemisphere. Europe, Africa and the Middle East will be able to choose which program they follow morning (East schedule) or afternoon and early evening (West schedule). All attendees can choose to attend the schedule that suits them best.
Again, we will be recording everything and video recordings will also be available after the event if you miss anything.
TIME ZONE CONVERTER
All times give above are Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Convert to your time zone using the following links:
EAST SCHEDULE START TIME on 28 April: 08:00 UTC
JOINT SCHEDULE START TIME on 28 April: 13:00 UTC
WEST SCHEDULE START TIME on 28 April: 16:00 UTC
WHY ARE YOU HAVING A PRE-SERIES AND POST-SERIES OF EVENTS EITHER SIDE OF THE MAIN EVENT?
One of the main values of an in-person event is the networking! Yes, it’s great to hear good content and attend breakouts, but connecting with people of similar interests and making connections that could lead to fruitful collaboration are highly prized outcomes for a conference.
We felt that having a lead-in series of webinars and a follow-up series of workshops and meet-ups would allow far more opportunities to build real networks than one main event alone (although we will also have lots of creative opportunities for building connections during the April main event as well!)
Our original Congress program allowed for all sorts of different forums and formats for meeting together around different interests, from the BAM Expo, to Roundtables, to the more informal Friday night lounge sessions, to discussion times, plus pop-up exhibits for industries, geographic groups and issue groups on each of the afternoon coffee breaks. We had a robust program of breakouts of different kinds, including panels, workshops, case studies and specialist teaching. And we were looking forward to having more time to deliver the breadth and depth of content that the Pre-series and Post-series now allows for in the new virtual format.
Finally, we consider these events as part of a journey. We we want listen to our audience early on in the process and allow time for consultation and conversations. The outcomes from these will given us an opportunity to shape the content in the latter stages of the events even more closely to meet the felt-needs of our attendees. The Pre-series builds towards the Main Event, priming us with foundational content, resources and connections to make the most of the three day event.
To round it off, we have the Post-series. Have you ever been to a conference and thought, ‘I’m inspired, but now what?’ The Post-series is a solution to this challenge. Follow-up workshops and meet-ups in May, June and July 2021 will give practical equipping, on-ramps and continued connection with others.
WHAT IS HOPIN AND THE BGLOBAL PLATFORM AND HOW IS THIS TECHNOLOGY USED FOR THE CONGRESS?
Hopin is the platform we’ll use to broadcast each Webinar or online Event. If Zoom is like going to a virtual meeting, then Hopin is like going to a virtual conference! If you are registered for the Congress, we will send you a Hopin link each month to access each Webinars cluster. Note: If you have not received the link, please contact registrar@bamglobal.org and cc info@bamglobal.org to ensure one of our team will see your message quickly and give you access as soon as possible.
Read more about the main features of Hopin and a step-by-step guide to accessing the Webinars each month on our Technical Help page here.
BGlobal is the new digital platform and app for the BAM movement. BGlobal is a secure, virtual networking space that our community can use to connect and collaborate on an on-going basis.
BGlobal will be integrated with all Congress events and activities and will provide another place for you to interact with your fellow attendees. The Congress Zone inside BGlobal will include program information, live event links, discussion areas, speaker biographies, and more.
All Registered attendees will be invited to create an account on BGlobal ahead of the first event they are attending. If you are registered for the Congress and have not yet activated your BGlobal account, either click the Log in button in your invitation email, if you received one, or if not, Request an Invitation here.
NOTE: It is not compulsory to join BGlobal for the Pre-Series Webinars but it will greatly enhance your interactive experience and will give you access to the fun interactive tasks that we will be talking about during the Webinars – as well as the recordings of Webinars afterwards.
HOW INTERACTIVE WILL THE CONGRESS PROGRAM BE?
The world has converted to online meetings and conferences this year and we have all been in our fair-share of boring, talking-head only Zoom meetings… That is NOT what the online BAM Global Congress is going to be like!
Making connections and interacting is one of the main reasons that people attend conferences and we are making virtual networking and interactivity a priority for the BAM Global Congress events. One of the reasons we are having monthly Pre-Congress Webinars is so that we can allow more time for interaction and networking over a longer lead-in time. All our sessions will include a variety of formats, including interviews, short talks, live Q&A, polls, breakouts, roundtables, 1-1 networking and resource sharing. Our goal is to enable many more sustainable, high-quality connections to be made between people attending – as well as introducing our attendees to many new resources and opportunities. We encourage you to read the FAQ above for more about why we are planning a pre- and post-series of events in addition to the main Congress program.
We are using the platform Hopin to run our online events. If Zoom is like attending a virtual meeting, then Hopin is like attending a virtual conference. Hopin allows various types of attendee interact through chat, including between everyone on the event reception and main stage, with a smaller group in breakout sessions, and one-on-one with other attendees through direct messaging.
Hopin also has an Expo tab where you can browse the virtual BAM Digital Expo booths and interact with exhibitors. There will be dedicated times during the schedule for attendees to network with one another, either one-on-one (mimicking the experience of randomly meeting a person in the coffee line) and in small groups during breakouts, during topic-focused roundtables and at open roundtables over coffee breaks.
In addition to all that, in between the Congress webinars, you will have a chance to interact with others using the BGlobal Community platform, which will be an ongoing virtual community for those interested and engaged in BAM.
You can read more about Hopin and BGlobal and how they will serve the Congress outcomes above.
HOW DO I GAIN ACCESS TO THE LIVE CONGRESS EVENTS? I CANNOT FIND THE EVENT ACCESS LINK!
All Registered attendees should be receiving regular “Congress Attendees” emails from us at BAM Global. We email you with the event access link and password 1-2 days before each live event starts. If you are not receiving emails from us please do the following:
- Check your Spam or Junk folder and mark any emails from us ‘Not Junk’
- Add info@bamglobal.org to your address book
- If using Gmail, please drag one of our emails into your primary inbox
- Contact registrar@bamglobal.org if you have not received any emails from us and/or have not received the access link for a particular Congress event (see below for emergency access)
Hopin is the platform we’ll use to broadcast each Webinar or online Event. If you are registered for the Congress, we will send you a Hopin link and password (that changes each month) to access each webinar cluster. There will also be a special link and password for the April main event. Read more about the main features of Hopin and a step-by-step guide to accessing the Webinars each month on our Technical Help page here.
EMERGENCY ACCESS: If you do not receive the link and are trying to get access on the day of a webinar/event, please contact registrar@bamglobal.org and cc info@bamglobal.org and tech@bamglobal.org to ensure one of our team will see your message quickly and give you access as soon as possible.
The event access link is also available in the BGlobal Community Congress Zone Group under the Event Schedule & Links tab. If you are not already a member of BGlobal, please see instructions on how to create a BGlobal account above under the WHAT IS HOPIN AND THE BGLOBAL PLATFORM? question. Please note: BGlobal is a secure platform, where every invite request is checked, therefore it can take a few days for your BGlobal account to be activated. If you want emergency access to a webinar, please email us instead.
HOW DO I GAIN ACCESS TO THE WEBINAR RECORDINGS?
Webinar recordings will be made available in the Congress Zone of BGlobal in the week after each Webinar series. Please read more about BGlobal in the FAQ above.
Registered attendees will be invited to create an account on BGlobal, please Request an Invitation here.
If for security reasons you prefer not to create a BGlobal account, please first read more about BGlobal and its security provisions here. Then if you decide you do not want to join the platform, but do want to access the webinar recordings, please contact us at info@bamglobal.org.
TICKET TYPES & REGISTRATION
WHAT DOES THE PREMIUM PASS INCLUDE?
The Premium All Access Pass includes:
* PRE-SERIES WEBINARS – OCTOBER 2020 – MARCH 2021
* MAIN EVENT CONGRESS ONLINE – 28 – 30 APRIL 2021
* MAIN EVENT DIGITAL CONTENT – RECORDINGS, SLIDES & FREE RESOURCES
* POST-SERIES WORKSHOPS & MEET-UPS – MAY – JUNE 2021
If you cannot make any of the webinars or sessions live, you will have access to recordings.
All Congress attendees will also have access to the BGlobal platform and the Congress area within it, including program information, live event links, discussion areas, speaker biographies, and more.
Attendees that were previously registered for the in-person Congress in Thailand will automatically get their current Congress ticket converted to a Premium All Access Pass, plus Pro Level Membership upgrade for BGlobal. Please read more about the conversion below.
IS THERE A DISCOUNT FOR MARRIED COUPLES?
Yes! Actually married couples get buy one, get one free.
As this is an online event, married couples may join the Congress together under one Registration. If you will watch together on one device, all you need to do is nominate one of you to be registered and provide your email address for all Congress communications, then you may share information about event access that we send out.
If you wish to have both of you registered to receive attendee communications and/or watch on separate devices with your own Hopin accounts, we ask that you both Register in full for the Congress (though the second spouse will not have to pay a registration fee). To do this, please Register the first spouse and then contact Lisa on our Registrar team at finance@bamglobal.org to request a spouse registration code to register the second spouse free.
CAN I ATTEND ONLY THE PRE-SERIES OR POST-SERIES?
Yes. On our Registration form you may either select the pre/post series as an add-on, or you can select them as stand-alone events.
WHAT IF I REGISTER FOR ONE SERIES OR EVENT AND WANT TO ADD ANOTHER ONE LATER?
If you attend one series or event and wish to add another, simply go back to the Registration form and register again and pay for the particular part of the program you wish to add.
It does not matter that you have already registered before for something else.
IS THERE A DISCOUNT FOR A TEAM OR GROUP?
Yes. We are offering ‘Team Passes’ either x5 or x10. The TEAM PASS is designed to give you a group discount for up to 5 or 10 members of your team or organisation.
Invite colleagues or friends and SAVE UP TO $75!
Team Passes are $600 for 5 people ($120 each person) or $1000 for 10 people ($100 each person). Team Passes are only available for the Premium All Access ticket option.
To get a Team Pass, please contact Lisa, our Team Pass manager by emailing finance@bamglobal.org with the list of people in your team and the name of your team. You will receive a special discount code that can be used by up to 5 or 10 members of your team when they register.
Each person will register separately and use the code that will reduce their ticket cost to either $120 (x5 Team Pass) or $100 (x10 Team Pass).
Large organisations may order as many Team Passes as they like.
Have an odd number of people in your team? Please read the following carefully:
If you have between 5 and 9 people, you qualify for a Team Pass x 5 discount at a cost of $120 per Pass. In this case, please send us your list of names and we will send you a discount code for that number of uses. If you would like the larger discount, please try to recruit additional people in your organisation to make a team of 10 or more, before contacting the Team Pass manager! If you have more than 10 persons in your team, then the discount code will be made available for the number of people you advise us are in your group (for example 12).
Contact us at finance@bamglobal.org once you have your list of names and we will set up your Team Pass discount code.
ARE SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE?
Yes, we do have Scholarships discount codes available for those with relatively low financial resources.
If you cannot otherwise afford to join the online event, please apply for a Scholarship by clicking the button below and completing the brief application form.
Scholarships will be awarded in the form of a ticket discount code for the Premium All Access Pass, to be applied at the time of Registration**.
The Premium All Access Pass gives scholarship recipients access to ALL Pre- and Post-Congress webinars/workshops and the Main Event in April.
Recordings will be made available for all past webinars, so if you miss a webinar, you will still have access to the videos and materials as part of your Premium All Access Pass.
** Please apply for a scholarship BEFORE registering for the Congress. Please let us know at scholarships@bamglobal.org if you have already completed Congress registration.
HOW SECURE IS THE CONGRESS?
We take security issues seriously here at BAM Global, but doing the Congress virtually does present us with some unique challenges.
Early on we realised and accepted that certain entities would have the means to get round any sort of vetting and checking system we could put in place for Registrations. Thus, although we ARE checking registrations and using our experience to filter suspicious registrations, we accept that we cannot completely eliminate the risk of a hostile person attending – and this would be true even for an in-person conference.
We are therefore taking other measures to help all attendees feel more comfortable attending, including:
- Any attendee may attend anonymously if preferred, choosing to have only their first name or a pseudonym visible to other attendees on our event platforms Hopin and BGlobal.
- All attendees may edit their profile details on Hopin and BGlobal at any time by selecting their profile icon on the top right of the page.
- Presenters are also given the option of changing their name and details to protect their work.
- Recordings will only be available via the Congress Zone in BGlobal. All BGlobal members ARE vetted before they can join the community.
Please read more about the technology platforms we are using for the Congress here: http://bamglobal.org/tech-help/ and more about the security measure we have in place for BGlobal here: https://bglobal.community/page/about.
If you have additional security concerns, please contact us at info@bamglobal.org.
CAN REGISTRATIONS FOR THE ONLINE CONGRESS BE CANCELLED AND/OR REFUNDED?
Yes. Cancellations and refunds may be requested for new online Congress registrations on or before 20 April 2021. We will refund the cost of the Congress ticket minus a process fee of $30 to cover fees and expenses that we incur. Please read full Terms and Conditions below.
If you are already Registered for the in-person event in Thailand and are enquiring about a refund, we have a special refund process for you, please read the “Conversion to Online & Refunds” section below.
CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICY:
In the case of a cancellation request received before 20 April 2021 (11:59 p.m. GMT-10), we will refund the cost of the Congress tickets minus a processing fee of $30.
No refunds will be made for any cancellation requests received after 20 April 2021 (11:59 p.m. GMT-10). Please contact us at registrar@bamglobal.org if you have any questions.
All refunds will be made on the same credit card used for payment.
CONVERSION TO ONLINE & REFUNDS
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO CONVERT THE IN-PERSON EVENT TO AN ONLINE EVENT?
This was a difficult decision for us and we are extremely disappointed not to be able to gather with you in-person in April. It has created significant administrative and financial challenges for us and was not taken lightly.
When we first postponed the Congress from 2020 to 2021, it was with the sincere hope of holding an in-person event at the same venue, one year later. But as we have monitored the global situation, it has become increasingly clear that gathering together in Thailand in April 2021 will be impossible.
Key factors include: the continued threat of COVID itself, as the pandemic is still raging; the current restrictions on travel; the general reluctance to travel or endure quarantines; plus the not insignificant fact that the borders of Thailand are still closed to casual visitors and a two week quarantine is currently required. This last fact alone has made it impossible to plan for a Thailand-based event.
After much research, prayer and thought, plus many conversations with BAM leaders globally, the Chairing Team and the Advisory Board of BAM Global had to conclude that we cannot move ahead with an in-person event in April.
However, we believe that the new online format allows us to be more creative and can deliver more value to even more people than before.
The Congress is committed to:
- Provide a global meeting point for the BAM movement
- Strengthen all parts of the BAM ecosystem
- Add value to the BAM community with unique content
- Create forums for discussion, deal-making, and network-building
Read more about our plans for the Congress above and on our Program page.
I AM STILL REGISTERED FOR THE IN-PERSON EVENT IN THAILAND IN APRIL 2021, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY REGISTRATION?
Your current registration will be automatically applied to the new online event.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO REGISTER OR PAY AGAIN! We will email you the link for the online events 1-2 days before each webinar cluster begins. If you have not received the link by 12 hours before a webinar is due to start, please contact registrar@bamglobal.org.
Please note, your current ticket will be converted to a PREMIUM ALL ACCESS CONGRESS PASS** + PRO MEMBERSHIP OF BGLOBAL.
Premium All Access Pass includes:
- Pre-series Webinars, October to March
- BAM Global Congress 2021 main event in April
- Digital Content for main event: recordings, slides, free resources
- Post-series Workshops & Meet-ups, May to June
Pro Level Membership for BGlobal includes:
- Free Upgrade from Basic Level Membership** (upgrade worth $300)
- 1 Year of access to BGlobal Premium Content starting May 2021
- Be in the first cohort of Pro BGlobal Members
* Premium All Access Pass registrations are worth $175 for the full virtual event.
** BGlobal will have a forever free Basic membership to allow you to join and network with others, and all Congress attendees will be invited to create a free BGlobal account. From next year we will be launching new membership levels. The Pro level, launching in May 2021, will be the highest individual membership level available and will include access to premium level resources and privileges, including a premium content & coaching zone, course materials, unlimited job postings, plus additional pitch and partner directory listings.
If you don’t want to convert your ticket as above, no problem! You can ask for a refund or partial refund, or choose to donate your registration. Please contact the Registrar if you do not wish to convert your ticket and stay registered for the Congress.
CAN I OPT FOR A REFUND?
Yes. If you don’t want to convert your ticket automatically to the new online event, you can opt out and request a refund by contacting the Registrar.
Please note: BAM Global will retain a refund fee of $50 for each full refund requested according to the original Terms and Conditions of Congress registration. You can read more about the reason for this fee below. Partial refunds with other ticket options are also available.
You may contact our Registrar at registrar@bamglobal.org for urgent questions related to your registration, but we do encourage you to read all our FAQs first.
WHY ARE YOU STILL CHARGING A REFUND FEE?
If you were previously registered for the Thailand event and want to opt-out of the automatic conversion of your ticket, you may request a full or partial refund. For full refund requests, we will refund the cost of the Congress ticket minus a processing fee of $50.
When we created the original refund policy for ticket cancellation, we obviously couldn’t have predicted the scenario that COVID has presented us with. However, we chose $50 because we felt like it represented a fair balance between the need to cover our irrecoverable costs, an incentive against casual registrations/cancellations, and the desire to return the majority of the fee in the event someone did need to cancel.
As we approached the decision to postpone the Congress, and then the decision to convert to an online event, we thought a lot about our cancellation policy and decided to keep the same policy. This is for a number of reasons, including:
We are offering what we feel is a fair alternative. We are hoping that the majority of our attendees will choose to simply roll their registration over to the online Congress program and convert their current ticket to the new offering, which we believe offers great value. We will also offer other ticket options with a partial refund and more information is available from our Congress Registrar about these options.
We also wanted to be fair to those who were forced to make the decision to cancel earlier, due to health worries, flight disruptions etc.. Keeping the fee consistent throughout was the most equitable way to handle this.
Like every organisation and business on the planet in this past year, we have had to adjust to carefully manage our cashflow through this crisis so that we can ‘stay in business’ to deliver the Congress in 2021. COVID hit very close to the Congress start date and we had already spent approximately $140 per delegate of the ticket price preparing for the Congress in 2020; while some of this can be applied to the online 2021 event, some cannot. We simply cannot afford to reverse our earlier refund policy.
For those of you who do want to cancel and get a refund, we totally respect and understand that. However, we are applying the same cancellation policy as we had before this crisis hit, which is to retain a non-refundable $50 fee when you cancel. We hope the information above has helped you understand why, but if you’d like to talk to us about this or if this will cause significant financial hardship for you, we encourage you to get in touch directly with us by email at chairs@bamglobal.org.
You may contact our Registrar at registrar@bamglobal.org for questions related to your registration, but we do encourage you to read all our FAQs first.
Thank you!
WILL I HAVE ACCESS TO THE PRE-CONGRESS WEBINARS?
Everyone previously registered for the Congress should have received an email with a link to attend each cluster of webinars from October to March. The recordings from these will also be made available to all those who stay registered.
If you have not been receiving Congress Attendee emails from us and believe you should still be registered from your original Thailand 2020 registration, please email the Registrar at registrar@bamglobal.org as soon as possible.
ARE YOU STILL PLANNING AN IN-PERSON EVENT IN THE FUTURE?
There is much value in gathering people together in one place, at an in-person event. We believe in the power of meeting face to face from time to time and are committed this model of meeting for the future. However, while the COVID pandemic is ongoing we do not consider it possible to have a truly global in-person meeting in this season.
We will eventually plan for another in-person BAM Global Congress in the future. However, we are not ready to set dates for such an event. We want to first deliver a fruitful BAM Global Congress 2021, plus value-add side events.
In the current circumstances, the very best way to deliver this is online, through various digital tools. Thus we want to stress that we are converting the current plan for the Congress in 2021 to a deliver the full event online.
We believe the BAM movement will highly benefit from having the BAM Global Congress this coming year, rather than postponing again. We are committed to:
- Provide a global meeting point for the BAM movement
- Strengthen all parts of the BAM ecosystem
- Add value to the BAM community with unique content
- Create forums for discussion, deal-making, and network-building
An online format does have its own advantages, we are less constrained by times and place, can be more creative with our scheduling and have a greater global reach. We are committed to using digital tools that will enhance your networking experience, rather than diminish it.
We look forward to gathering with you online!
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!
- PREMIUM ALL ACCESS PASS
- $175
- Includes: MAIN EVENT & DIGITAL CONTENT + PRE-SERIES PASS + POST-SERIES PASS
- All prices in US Dollars
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