The Climate Reality Project Goes Big + Goes Virtual | Part 3

Part 3 of 3

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Before diving into this portion, where we wrap up our behind the scenes look at how this massive virtual training came together, you can catch up on Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Opportunity: How can we meaningfully engage and connect participants online?

1. Start simply with live polling.

During live sessions, attendees were able to access polls on their mobile app and results would stay available for viewing after each session ended.

2. Create art fed by attendee participation.

Every participant was encouraged to contribute a photo toward creating an elaborate photo collage, which continued to populate through each day of the virtual training. Photos could easily be uploaded through their mobile app or posted on social media with the #GlobalTrainingJuly hashtag.

We love this technology, made possible by Luster.

Climate Reality encouraged participants to share photos of themselves that show what they are personally fighting for and how they are making a difference in the fight for our planet and our future.

3. Tap into what’s top-of-mind and show you care.

Climate Reality is committed to promoting mental health and wellness, especially during a time that can be very challenging for many with the current pandemic. They provided attendees several ways to accomplish this on their Take Care webpage.

Opportunity: How do you effectively facilitate virtual Q&A sessions?

The power of two-way conversation is hard to overrate.

With that in mind, and given the size and complexity of this virtual training, solving for effective Q&A experiences was key for the team.

Table work groups connected during each live session to discuss relevant topics and raise questions, with mentors submitting them to former vice president and Climate Reality Chairman and Founder Al Gore to be answered.

We then utilized the remote studio solution (read Part II for more) to broadcast his responses and discussions with different scientists, included in the live Q&A sessions.

While not all questions could be answered during the allotted time, additional questions and responses were made available for attendees to view on-demand following the live broadcast.

In addition, Climate Reality facilitated Q&As through Reality Hub, their online community forum. Attendees were encouraged to go to the discussion forums to ask questions and give feedback on issue breakout sessions, skill-building breakout sessions, and more.

Opportunity: How can we track attendee progress?

Trust, but verify.

The Climate Reality Leadership: Global Leadership training program culminates in certifying participants who successfully complete the program. In a virtual environment, how can we track and reward progress?

At home and connecting remotely, all participants deal with more distractions than they would in a live meeting environment. Attention spans are shorter, so flexibility must be greater.

Instead of three jam-packed days of live sessions, the virtual sessions were spread over nine days. Each attendee was expected to participate in at least 14 hours total.

Progress was based on attendance, on-demand session signups, and completing module assignments. While each attendee had an assigned mentor, they were also paired with an accountability partner to ensure the successful completion of the training process.

Through the virtual tools used, each attendee had a unique profile that could be tracked as they engaged online. This allowed us to compile Health Check Reports to view attendee activity and progress.

Opportunity: How can the participants effectively graduate after completing the program?

A number of requirements had to be met in order for participants to earn the Climate Reality Leader distinction.

• Watching live sessions with former vice president and Climate Reality Project Founder and Chairman Al Gore
• Attend and participate in small-group table work sessions
• Attend one meet-up with attendees from their geographic region
• Watch on-demand climate issue panels and skill-building breakouts
• Complete learning exercises

Those that successfully completed the training—verified by the attendee tracking systems put in place—will receive a certificate of completion, a green ring pin, and admission into a powerful network of over 27,000 Climate Reality Leaders worldwide.

Our team was honored to produce this landmark virtual training event and we’re thrilled to be continuing our partnership The Climate Reality Project. If you’re interested in becoming a Climate Reality Leader in your own community, you can get involved here.

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