In this article, organisers of the annual conference of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), held during March and April 2020, share their story of moving the planned on-site conference to a virtual space, as necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their analysis of the vCIES (the name given to the virtual conference) process not only provides an example of a disruption to the status quo of the institution of conferencing as a result of a global pandemic, but also extends it by addressing the multiplying concerns, urgent considerations and actions needed within academic communities for more equal and accessible conferencing in the unfolding climate catastrophe. The authors begin by discussing the challenge of academic conferencing in the age of COVID-19 and climate crisis. They highlight how their decolonial political stance (which critiques accepting Western knowledge and Western culture as the norm) and their climate-conscious approach informed their preparation of a virtual conference pilot already intended as an experimental extension to this year’s on-site event. They suggest the development of this pilot provided the necessary platform for transforming the vCIES into an effective and engaging virtual experience for participants. The vCIES process, including considerations concerning its structure and format and the necessary technology, is detailed in the subsequent sections. In the final part of their article, the authors briefly identify and discuss some of the opportunities, challenges and implications emerging from their vCIES experiences. Ultimately, they suggest that in a time of instability, insecurity and uncertainty, there need to be alternatives to large on-site conferences which require excessive and extensive academic mobility. The vCIES was a step in that direction as an accessible, environmentally responsive, more equal, and intergenerational and multispecies event that welcomed families, children and pets, while opening the space for new interdisciplinary encounters.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 和气候危机时代的学术会议：比较与国际教育学会 (CIES) 的案例

在本文中，2020 年 3 月和 4 月举行的比较与国际教育学会 (CIES) 年会的组织者分享了他们将计划中的现场会议转移到虚拟空间的故事，这是 COVID-19 所必需的大流行病。他们对 vCIES（虚拟会议的名称）流程的分析不仅提供了一个例子，说明全球大流行导致会议机构的现状被破坏，而且还通过解决成倍增加的问题来扩展它，学术界需要紧急考虑和采取行动，以便在正在发生的气候灾难中举行更平等和更容易获得的会议。作者首先讨论了 COVID-19 和气候危机时代学术会议的挑战。他们强调了他们的非殖民化政治立场（批评接受西方知识和西方文化为规范）和他们的气候意识方法如何为他们准备虚拟会议试点提供了信息，该试点已经打算作为今年现场活动的实验性扩展。他们建议该试点的开发为将 vCIES 转变为参与者有效且引人入胜的虚拟体验提供了必要的平台。vCIES 过程，包括对其结构和格式以及必要技术的考虑，将在后续章节中详细说明。在文章的最后一部分，作者简要地确定并讨论了他们的 vCIES 经历中出现的一些机遇、挑战和影响。最终，他们建议在不稳定时期，不安全和不确定性，需要有替代方案来替代需要过度和广泛学术流动的大型现场会议。vCIES 是朝着这个方向迈出的一步，它是一个可访问的、对环境敏感的、更平等的、跨代和多物种的活动，欢迎家庭、儿童和宠物，同时为新的跨学科相遇开辟了空间。