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Six Days, Six Languages and One Historic Election: The Virtual U.S. Election Program
USEP 2020 • A Virtual Conference Case Study
Strategy | Platform Setup | Coaching | Production
Registrations
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Countries
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The Challenge
Every four years, the Arlington, VA-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems’ (IFES) holds its U.S. Election Program (USEP), a multi-day conference that brings together leading elections experts to support accountability in the world’s democracies. IFES is an international, nonprofit organization founded in 1987, that reaches over 200 million people with civic and voter education in over 145 countries. As part of its commitment to adaptation, innovation and resilience in the wake of COVID-19, the 2020 USEP went virtual for the first time in its 33-year history. IFES knows a thing or two about event planning, but Virtual USEP 2020 required an event platform solution that could navigate the logistics of multiple languages, conflicting time zones, networking opportunities, social media integrations, contests, video forums, field reporting and live support. And We & Goliath knows a thing or two about … all of that.
Our Solution
We & Goliath helped IFES transform USEP into a thriving online hub that showcased USEP’s packed agenda of panel discussions from academic experts, a (state-level) Secretary of State, democracy think tanks and political organizers. Topics ranged from the impact of COVID on voter turnout to the role of youth activism in political movements. The Virtual USEP 2020 event lobby also included options for attendee networking, an immersive social media wall, an “Ask a U.S. Elections Expert” video forum, and the “This Is What Democracy Looks Like” photo and video contest, which encouraged visitors to upload media to be considered in one of five prize categories.
Results
The event lasted six days (October 27 – November 4), four of which had multiple sessions with different formats, including sponsored sessions from Microsoft, which presented its Defending Democracy Program and featured a speech by Microsoft president, Brad Smith. All sessions were broadcast live with real-time translations in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesian, French, Russian and Spanish. Attendees could submit questions in these languages that would be translated for panel moderators.
Election Day itself included expert commentary alongside live reporting from 5 different polling stations around the United States. With over 2,493 registrants from 130 countries around the world, Virtual USEP 2020 carried on a tradition and brought it virtual. Panel sessions were interspersed with custom-illustrated “Whiteboard” animated videos that addressed topics like Gerrymandering and the Voter Rights Act — all with the five language translations. Recordings of each day’s events, including their captioned translations, were posted on IFES’ YouTube channel to become the focus of virtual “viewing parties” internationally.
What We Did
01Speaker Coaching
02Graphic Design
03Accessibility
04Live Production
05On-the-ground Filming
06Live Technical Support
Whiteboard Videos
Our illustrator/animator, copyeditor, and voice-over artists collaborated on four animated topic tutorials, or “Whiteboard Videos,” that educated attendees on everything from the history of Gerrymandering to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These videos also engaged event viewers at strategic points between live segments.
Live Interpretation & Captioning
Six days of live panelists and keynote speeches with real-time translations in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesian, French, Russian and Spanish.
Schedule
The accessibility page featured the whole event schedule with translations for each session.
Social Media Posts
It was so good to be part of this insightful event.
Getting to hear election expert views on the #USElection2020 and picking lessons that can be adapted to the Nigerian electoral process was the ultimate. Thank you @IFES1987 Nigeria for this.
#USEP2020
#USEP2020
Will it be Trump or Biden?
If you missed yesterday's #USEP2020 panel with renowned pollsters Ed Goeas and Celinda Lake, watch now 👇
If you missed yesterday's #USEP2020 panel with renowned pollsters Ed Goeas and Celinda Lake, watch now 👇
"Serving at the polls today alongside many other young(er) first time election workers -- gives me hope to see so many folks answering the call of civic duty in this way!" – IFES' Lisa Reppell
Andy is one of those first-time poll workers. He stood ready to assist voters in English and Spanish outside a polling station today in Washington, D.C.
#USEP2020
Andy is one of those first-time poll workers. He stood ready to assist voters in English and Spanish outside a polling station today in Washington, D.C.
#USEP2020
🎥 We’ve sent film crews across the U.S. to get a look at what polling stations look like. Do these experiences look like yours?
Watch and let us know! #USEP2020
Watch and let us know! #USEP2020
In most countries, national elections are run by one centralized commission. Not so in the U.S.
What does election administration look like in the U.S.? Watch the whiteboard video to learn more 👇 #USEP2020
What does election administration look like in the U.S.? Watch the whiteboard video to learn more 👇 #USEP2020
2020 has been called the “year of the young.” Next week, I’ll be moderating an @IFES1987 #USEP2020 discussion with @NickGuthman @DaniSButcher and @RehanaMohammed on how this impacts the US #Election2020 RSVP:
Social Wall
The event lobby featured a social wall, where attendees and post-event viewers could follow the conversation via a hashtag feed that included shared media.
Contest
Attendees were invited to submit entries in a photo & video contest, titled, “Show us what Democracy Looks Like.” Winner recognition was given across 5 elections-related categories.
Graphic Design
Custom campaign graphics for email and social media with custom sizes for Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were created to maximize event reach for every session.
Interactive Electoral Map
The event lobby also included an Interactive Electoral Map that invited attendees to track electoral developments as votes were tallied state-by-state.
Sponsor Booths
Facebook and Microsoft helped sponsor the event and each were given a custom virtual booth to present their election security efforts.
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