The inclusivity of online seminars

The online seminars, or webinars, provide a virtual space for in-depth discussions on a variety of scientific- and academic-related topics.

Several webinar series were launched amid COVID-19 constraints, providing the opportunity to keep the scientific community united during the challenging times of the global pandemic. Webinars have proven their advantage in overcoming geographical limitations and funding issues for in-person or online conference attendance. Virtual approaches are a powerful tool for promoting open science sharing, improving community networks and fostering virtual collaboration, with broad appeal evidenced by international viewership and institutional ties.

We recommend offering a flexible format, which may include an initial talk followed by interactive Q&A space. Scientific talks can be recorded and published on online platforms that provide a DOI and on YouTube, giving visibility and credits to both early career researchers and leading scientists, as well as providing potential teaching material for undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Good practice is to create an unrecorded space for informal meetings, where a relaxed environment is fostered that encourages questions, free discussion, and facilitates mentoring.

With a view to making webinars inclusive, we encourage a balanced selection of speakers, considering gender, career stage and country of origin, to promote the inclusion of minorities. Conveners are also recommended to ensure the correct pronunciation of the names and pronouns of the speakers before the beginning of the webinar. 

The live session, however, is as inclusive as the time zones in which the webinar is hosted. Hence, geographical inclusion of live attendance can be achieved by shifting time zones from the eastern and western hemisphere during the year.

Finally, webinar using online platforms with close captions and careful post-production editing with subtitles integration allows for a more accessible material for both non-native English speakers and underrepresented minorities such as hard of hearing and deaf peoples.

Although these options tend not to be used, it is important to open up dialogue on how to make webinars more inclusive and oriented as an educational hub for Earth science studies.