JEDDAH, 21 January 2007 — The Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) is to incorporate a sophisticated new technology as a key part of its proceedings this year. The instant feedback system will allow the audience to ask questions, feedback opinion and take part in instant polls to gauge opinion on topics brought up in the discussions and presentations. The move was in response to feedback to the organizers from attendees.
“We have received feedback from speakers, panelists and delegates that they want more interaction and ability to state their ideas and opinions,” said Jeddah Economic Forum Chairman Sami Bahrawi at a presentation yesterday to introduce the technology to the press.
Two highly visible screens will display questions from the panelists or speakers to which they would like the audience respond during the 60-minute sessions.
The system, built by IML, the UK’s leading supplier of interactive audience response systems, allows the audience to respond to questions, vote and text questions to the moderators from a keypad to a central computer where they are processed at high speed and displayed on the screens.
In the demonstration to the press given by IML’s Gavin Reid, polls produced results in a matter of seconds. Every delegate to a JEF session will be given a keypad for use in the sessions of the conference.
The keypads can be programmed with a delegate’s information and personal details via a smart-card.
For the first time, the JEF will have professional moderators. Sue McGregor and Alistair Stewart, BBC and ITN presenters and news anchors respectively, will moderate every session. “They will focus the discussions and help us achieve the two things we want,” said Bahrawi, “interaction and focus.”
McGregor and Stewart will be moderating throughout the three days which would give an added value as they would be able to link discussions and ideas from earlier sessions together and make a more cohesive mix.
