Information for side session conveners

Before the workshop

1. Inform the CMIP IPO of your nominated lightning talk speaker for the Friday report back. As a reminder, the report back should cover:
   • One key action from your side session which you or your community are taking forwards
   • This action should be linked to future CMIP developments
   • Presented on maximum of one slide, emailed to the CMIP IPO by 20:00 UTC, 12 March 2026. If we do not receive your slide by this date, we will simply put a slide with your session name on for you to talk in front of.

Presentation upload

Presentations are being managed in Google Drive for the workshop. For side sessions, your convening team is responsible for uploading and managing these presentations.

1. The CMIP IPO will email you with a link to your side session folder.
2. You can upload whatever files you need in here. Please adhere to our naming convention, to help our AV support staff at the venue.
3. Naming convention: Ensure files are prefixed with their order number within the session, followed by an underscore. After this, you can name your file as you like. E.g. the first presentation should be called “1_title”, the second should be “2_title” and so on.

Please email your single slide for the session report back to the CMIP IPO by 20:00 UTC, 12 March 2026. If we do not receive your slide by this date, we will simply put a slide with your session name on for you to talk in front of.

At the workshop

Conveners are responsible for the smooth operation of their session and should:

1. Make sure to keep sessions on time.
2. Keep in mind that the fully-hybrid session approach involves speakers and audience split in virtual and on-site groups. Questions can come from on-site attendees as well as virtual attendees through the Webex chat and/or Q&A feature.
   • You will have a session support staff member sat next to your chairpersons to alert you to questions raised online.
   • You will also have two AV support staff members elsewhere in the room to load slides/videos.
3. Ensure that presenters stand directly behind the lectern throughout their presentation in order for them to be properly framed by the video camera and thus viewable by the virtual attendees. Presenters must also make use of the lectern microphone, so that virtual attendees in Webex can follow the session.
4. For attendees in the room, these audience members must also make sure they use the microphone available to them when asking a question or making a comment. Apart from allowing the virtual attendees to hear the question, it also helps any attendees who may be hard of hearing, deaf, or who have auditory processing issues, to follow the session. Large rooms have mounted microphones, where people can queue by at the end of the presentation.
5. Conveners must also use the designated chairperson microphone when moderating the session. It is the responsibility of the conveners to remind presenters and audience members to always use the microphone when speaking, or repeat questions through their own microphone.
6. Presenters can indicate specific information on their presentation with the wireless mouse pointer provided at the lectern transmitted to the projected screen in the room as well as on Webex for the virtual attendees.