Why German Conferences Are the Best

The only two conferences I’ve been to that were useful were in Germany. The ones I spoke at in the US, Canada, Spain, UK, and the Dominican Republic were a travesty compared to how conferences are done in Germany. There are two main features of German conferences that make them worthwhile: the focus of the talks and community.

German organizers turn each session into a community. The participants are not indifferent people who show up separately to read their talk and then scram as fast as possible. People show up together, hang out, then work together. Everybody stays the entire time the whole three days. Showing up just to read your talk and disappear is impossible. You won’t be invited again. As a result, people get to know each other as human beings and not machines that churn out words. The conference develops its own lore about funny things experienced together as a group. There are shared jokes and shared memories.

Obviously, I’m talking about conferences in my field and lay no claim to how things are organized in other areas. Neither do I suggest that all US conferences are built on the model of “show up for your session and disappear after it.” I’m only speaking about what I experienced several times a year every year since 2000, the year of my first conference.

Another great thing about German conferences is that people don’t talk about one tiny aspect of their research that nobody else in the room understands. And nobody reads pre-canned narratives. Instead, people speak like normal human beings about their entire project. And how they got interested in it. This way, it’s not boring for those who aren’t into this specific thing, which nobody ever is.

For instance, yesterday I listened to a talk about a Polish journalist who wrote a book about his experiences during the war of independence in Angola. It’s relevant to our field because a Spanish filmmaker made a movie based on the Pole’s book. I thought it would be the most tedious thing ever but actually I loved it. The talk wasn’t about some tiny aspect of the movie but about the whole project. And that made it human and interesting.

In short, in North America, we should throw away the entire way we do conferences. We should learn from Germans because currently our conferences are a complete waste of time and money. There’s zero reason to go to them at all because you can just as easily email your talk to the participants and they will ignore it just like they do at conferences.

Good job, Germans. Now that I’ve experienced this in Southern and Northern parts of the country, I understand that this is not a bug but a feature. You rock, my friends. We have a lot to learn from you.

Also, I just have to mention that the way coffee, tea, fresh fruit, mineral water, and excellent quality snacks were provided for free throughout the 3-day event was impressive.