Whoever joined the virtual rooms of ABPI’s 40th International Congress on Intellectual Property, accessed the app with all the entity’s services, or participated in the podcasts, webinars, and online courses promoted throughout 2020 may think that virtualization was the result of the pandemic, which compelled for everyone to comply with social distancing.
Not quite. The truth is that ABPI’s digital transformation process started long before, and was part of a strategic plan that had been applied since 2019. There was a demand from the market, it was already mandatory to provide increasingly digital services to members, including a digital education platform”, explains ABPI’s executive director, Erika Diniz.
Throughout 2019, ABPI had already promoted at least three virtual events for its members, and the 39th Congress had two lunch-lectures transmitted online. Besides, in the renovation of its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, carried out that year, modern virtual communication equipment was installed. Technology suppliers were already being contacted and evaluated. It was a preparation for gradual and partial virtualization of ABPI’s activities that was sped up by the pandemic.
The virtual success of the ABPI’s Congress in 2020, with a record number of registrations and accesses above expectations, only confirmed the correctness of the decisions. “Fortunately, the successful experience of a virtual congress brought a larger number of participants and added a new, younger audience, which we always wanted to bring to ABPI”, says the executive director.
Virtualization is here to stay, and even after the pandemic is over shall be incorporated into upcoming ABPI events. “Our next Congress will be hybrid”, says Erika Diniz. The market will determine the extension of on-site and virtual interactions”.
