BSW light, the first completely virtual surgical congress in Belgium: out of the box

Due to the SARS-COV2 pandemic-related restrictions the 2020 Belgian Surgical Week (BSW) was organized as a virtual congress, being the first surgical, virtual congress in Belgium. Since this was a new experience and probably not the last, we aim to share our experience to assist other professionals in organizing their virtual events.

The 'BSW-light' was organized by the RBSS in collaboration with a Professional Congress Organizer (PCO), which is described in detail. Analytical data of the event were provided by the PCO and a UEMS 'live educational events participant evaluation form' based survey was sent out to all registered participants, using google forms, to evaluate the event.

During 2 days, 78 prerecorded presentations were broadcasted in 2 virtual conference rooms, each followed by a live Q & A session. The plenary session on the third day contained 8 live presentations, both from Belgium and from abroad. A total of 503 people registered for the congress, of whom 224 trainees. Each session attracted 158 visitors on average, each spending an average of 73 min. Attendees were satisfied with the technical aspect of the virtual congress, but they preferred an event that is at least partially live.

Although the 'BSW-light' proved to be successful, a preference to meet in real life remained. However, given its potential, we should keep an open mind towards integrating the advantages of a virtual meeting into a live event.