The concept of seminars and their objectives

The concept of seminars has spread as a meeting of a group of people to talk about a specific issue. All participants in the seminar are specialists in the topic of the seminar. They clarify their points of view, suggestions, and ideas. They provide an opportunity for discussion with the audience invited to attend the conference. One of the conditions of the seminar is always not to move to other topics, but to stay only on the topic of discussion and what is around it.

First – Elements of the seminar:

• The topic of the seminar: It means presenting a scientific problem, or a medical, philosophical, or literary critical issue with the aim of solving it.
• Seminar Director: He is the decision-maker who manages the seminar sections and links them together. He must have the following criteria:

1. Experienced in presenting seminar management
2. Well-informed about the topic he will manage in the seminar
3. Preparing the link between the sections
4. Keen to achieve the seminar objectives
5. Giving him the freedom to express opinions
6. Bringing the attendees back to the heart of the topic whenever they stray from it
7. Ability to summarize and draw conclusions
8. Improves the preparation of the place and the specific means
9. Preparing in advance with the lecturers
10. Being characterized by broad-mindedness
11. Specialized in the type of seminar

• Participating members in the seminar: Participants are meant to be: specialists, academics, and those related to the seminar topic.
• Audience: They are the interested and specialized people, and those related to the seminar topic.
• Dialogue: This is related to the seminar topic, and does not exceed its limits.

Second: Seminar preparation stages:

We must take into account many matters and considerations related to the seminar activity, size, and timing when preparing for it:

• The level of the seminar (its limits): local seminar, regional seminar, global seminar.
• Timing: Some are held periodically, and some are held suddenly.
• Experience: It means the extent of the party’s experience in organizing seminars.
• Attendance: A seminar with a wide attendance, not a seminar with limited attendance.

Therefore, the seminar goes through three successive stages:

The preparation stage “pre-seminar”

This is the longest stage in the seminar’s time, and the seminar depends on good preparation for this stage for its success.

Preparation stage includes several steps that can be summarized in two groups:

The first group: is technical preparation, which includes the following steps:

• Identifying the needs of the field related to the seminar
• Arranging these needs in a logical order, and classifying them according to the axes.
• Dedicating the seminar to one or two issues.
• Determine the intended objectives behind the process.
• Control the contents (topics).

The second group: Material preparation, requires the formation of the following main and sub-committees:

First – Main committees, including:

The Higher Committee for the Symposium or the Symposium Supervision Committee: It is headed by the first official in the entity organizing the symposium, and its most important tasks are approving the conference plan and adopting its objectives, receiving reports from other committees on their work, and coordinating between them.

The Preparatory Committee: It is responsible for preparing the symposium plan (time, place, and estimated budgets), submitting the proposed formation of other committees to the Higher Committee, defining their tasks and following up on their work, proposing their rewards, submitting periodic reports to the Higher Committee on the work accomplished, and nominating the heads and members of the committees.

Second – Sub-committees, which are divided into scientific, technical, and administrative committees:

Scientific committees, including the Committee for Determining the Axes and Topics, the Research Examination and Evaluation Committee, the Recommendations Committee, and the Documentary and Media Book Committee.

Technical committees, including the research and symposium publications printing committee, the seminar hall organization committee, the translation committee, the participant registration committee, the media and internet committee, and the follow-up committee.

The administrative committee, including the delegation heads reception committee (for political and large seminars), the relations and protocol committee (for regular seminars), the housing committee, the catering committee, the transportation committee, the reservations arrangement committee, the finance committee, the secretarial and archiving committee, and the symposium headquarters liaison committee.

The symposium headquarters liaison committee is the committee that helps unify communication with the headquarters management and transfer the requirements of the committees that will move to it immediately before the symposium is held so that it is the link between the various committees and the symposium headquarters management, which will facilitate obtaining answers to their inquiries from one party instead of several committees.

Coordination requirements between committees:

• Define the objectives and tasks of each committee very clearly, and discuss them when preparing them with the nominated chairman.
• Each chairperson studies the tasks of other committees
• Gradual working hours, especially if the period between the formation of the committees and the convening of the symposium is long.
• Conduct periodic meetings for each committee, and for the chairpersons of the committees with the supervisory committee or the preparatory committee.
• Set up reserve names – for each committee – to face the possibility of increased workloads.
• Draw a plan to direct the efforts of a number of members of the committees whose work ends before the convening of the symposium, such as the research printing committee or the research examination and evaluation committee.
• Distribute the symposium program to the committees a suitable period before the date of its convening to study it and determine what is required of them regarding it.
• Give each working committee during the symposium a set of its publications and gifts and set the basis for distributing them through it.
• The number of members of each committee should be proportional to its tasks.
• Set controls for using individuals from outside the organizing body in the symposium committees.
• Clarify the basis for evaluating the performance of the committees in advance, and disburse rewards to their members.

Seminar Implementation Phase

We mean the actual implementation phase of the seminar in the presence of all those concerned with the seminar.

We can summarize the steps that this phase goes through, and the accompanying conditions, as follows:

• Opening and the accompanying welcome and introduction of participants.
• Reminding of the program.
• Presenting presentations and completing work within the specified deadlines.
• Respecting work methods and not deviating from the contents.
• Distributing documents (brochures – summaries of presentations …)
• Modifying programs when absolutely necessary.
• Assigning a rapporteur.

Evaluation Phase “Post-Seminar”

This evaluation phase aims to achieve a number of purposes, including:

• Meeting the desire that arises among recipients to disclose their degree of satisfaction in achieving the desired goals.
• Assisting the supervisor (or supervisors) to modify, improve or direct the process to become more effective, and
• Based on the notes and suggestions provided by the participants in writing.
• Identifying the needs of the recipients in terms of what should be considered for study in subsequent seminars.

Third – Types of seminars and their management

Open seminar (or public seminar)

In which the audience participates widely, asking questions, discussing, and presenting their points of view, and this is done after the members have finished presenting their points of view, such as television and radio seminars.

The following items are the most important things to manage:

• Controlling the situation
• Controlling matters to expand the circle of dialogue Maintaining order and decorum in communication
• Stopping speakers who offend the participants, or who mock or belittle the opinions of the speakers

Closed seminar

This includes the participating members and the seminar director only and is without an audience. It has two parts:

Research Seminar

In which each member presents research that is prepared in advance and is subject to discussion after it is delivered. Usually, the body inviting this seminar is a scientific body, a cultural institution, or a specialized international organization, and the research is published after the seminar ends.

Interrogative Seminar

It is based on asking questions and answering them.

Managing the interrogative seminar, and these are the most important things to manage it:

• The seminar director chooses the questions and formulates them accurately, in a way that does not allow for interpretation.
• The director points out the problems that need clarification.
• The director is a specialist in the topic of the seminar and has the skill to manage and control the dialogue.
• Prepare the main axes of the questions that will be asked, and distribute them to the participating members so that they prepare themselves to answer them so that they are not surprised or embarrassed.
• Adhere to the etiquette of asking and presenting questions, and do not be arrogant or pretentious, or monopolize the conversation, or deliberately embarrass the participants.
• Setting and distributing time fairly, not straying from the topic of the seminar, and not interrupting speakers.

Read more about The different types of seminars