Virtual celebration

METHODS

Virtual celebrations can serve a variety of purposes, depending on the point at which they occur. For example, in the beginning of a project, festive gatherings contribute to building up of shared purpose, ownership and engagement of partners. Moreover, they also serve to establish trustful relationships within the project setting, within the project team and with partners. In the course of a project, reaching important milestones might deserve special attention to keep up the team spirit and contribute to visibility and motivation. At the end, partners want to close the cooperation not only operationally, but also emotionally, looking back at shared moments, acknowledging achievements and ensuring the sustainability of results, further cooperation and maintenance of networks (if applicable).

The first step in planning a virtual celebration is to determine what are its goals and which accomplishments to highlight and celebrate. In conjunction with that, a very important step is to decide who will be invited and accordingly determine the setting. Will the celebration be held in an intimate circle of just a few people or will it be a larger ceremonial online event? Will the team present the project’s results in front of a larger audience, or will it be an internal gathering with coffee or dinner together over a video conference? Will you celebrate within the inner/outer circle of your project team or is this the right moment to bring in other hierarchical levels of the organisations involved or external partners for symbolic backing and appreciation? This should be determined in advance so that a suitable setting and activities can be chosen.

Another important aspect is to decide who is in charge of organizing the event and who else is involved in the planning. If a local team or a steering committee is part of the project coordination, it would be helpful to include this group in the planning and implementation of the festive event. In this way they can propose their own ideas and wishes in line with their cultural or professional context and tasks can be allocated accordingly. For bigger festive events, partners not directly represented in the steering committee could also be invited to make their contributions or do so via the steering committee itself.

Once the goal and size of the event have been decided, suitable formats or elements of the celebration need to be selected.  For example, for informal gatherings, an appreciative gift in the mail or a fun hour with virtual (team) games is a good solution to strengthen relationship with the team members or partners and express appreciation of the collaboration. For festive launches or closings in the context of a larger audience, a hybrid celebration could be considered, mixing in-person and online participation. In selecting formats, think about what knowledge about the project’s region can be integrated into the event (folklore, tales, food, traditions, etc.). Audiovisuals, such as a short videoclip of a classical concert or a self-made video or a photo slide show with the highlights of a project is another format that can be included.

With regard to the setting, make it as specific as possible and communicate that in advance so that the partners can dress accordingly, for example fancy for a shared virtual dinner, casual for a virtual cup of coffee or black for the setting of a funeral (intercultural dimension). Make preparations activating different senses (sound, lighting, etc.) to make the setting as realistic as possible.

Another partial substitute for an in-person presence is to mail partners and stakeholders physical items before the celebration. For example:

• A postcard (with handwritten message) expressing appreciation of work or celebrating success
• Small treats like chocolate which should be opened during the event so that the moment can be shared
• A print-out photograph of the team and partners
• A present from your organization
• A (custom-made personalized) cup or glass or a bottle of a beverage of choice (taking into account cultural and personal preferences e.g. toward alcohol) to toast each other and the cooperation
• A table firework or a candle and matches to be lit together during the event.
• Any other object that fits the occasion.

Knowing one’s colleagues on a personal level makes maintaining partnerships and multi-stakeholder networks easier. Therefore, it is always worth it, especially at launch celebrations, to ask personal questions and make space for informal conversations. One idea for smaller groups could be to ask participants to share something the others are not likely to know about them and have others comment to identify common interest or hobbies. For example, A: “I am the only one here who can knit very well.” B: “Actually I am good at knitting too!”.

Another idea is to use the “triangle of commonalities” for groups of three, where each corner of the triangle stands for one group member; commonalities between all three people are written in the center of the triangle, while commonalities between two of the group members are written next to the line that connects them. Not only words, but also pictures work well in such a context.

A third idea is to ask participants to bring a souvenir or an object that represents them and share it with the group in a presentation round.

During a wrap-up event, it is common to reflect on the months or years of a partnership and show your appreciation by looking back at those times. This can be done through storytelling (“Do you remember when…?”) or visualisation (putting together funny or professional photos of project events). One idea is to create pictures using conceptboard: Picture 1: How did we start?  Picture 2: Where are we now at the end of the project? Ask also the partners to contribute as they will bring in their own perspective on the most important milestones and special moments which they would like to share with the participants.
 

Some topics of conversation and reflection for a closing celebration are:

• How did the project start?
• What were some highlights during the project?
• What were the lowest points?
• What is special about our team?
• What are the team members’ and partners’ views on the future (collaboration, maintaining the network?

After the event it might be a good idea and a sign of appreciation and commitment to share the photos, presentations, etc. of the event with all the participants or send a thank-you card or email. To conclude the event and to add to the visibility of the cooperation, a Candela article could be published and shared with the participants and beyond.