On the internet instead of in the community hall

Public online event for Bayernwerk Netz GmbH

Digital Citizens' Dialogue

As the largest regional network operator in Bavaria, Bayernwerk Netz GmbH secures the energy supply in large parts of the Free State. Its tasks also include renewing power lines due to their age. Before excavators and mobile cranes move in, Bayernwerk Netz presents important construction projects to the public. In order to inform residents and interested citizens about the planned construction work at an early stage and to address questions and concerns of the local people, the project team invited the interested public to a dialogue event. We supported Bayernwerk Netz in the conception, organisation and implementation of the digital information evening

Objectives:

  • Enable citizen dialogue on the planned construction project online as barrier-free as possible.
  • Prepare the project team for the appearance in the livestream
  • Technical implementation of the online dialogue as a livestream
  • Promote interaction and dialogue during the online event
Referenz Bürgerkommunikation Bayernwerk – Logo

Agency Services: Event conception and organisation, studio set-up, livestream, press relations, creation of presentation material, camera coaching, online moderation

Space for dialogue - also online

interested public at an early stage. Before the pandemic, this was usually done in direct interaction with citizens at information evenings in community halls in the respective region. The personal conversation with residents and interested parties as well as the joint discussion in front of exhibits and map material on display is a particular concern of Bayernwerk Netz. Our challenge in 2020 was to enable dialogue in the digital space as well. All citizens should have the opportunity to inform themselves about the planned construction project and to address their questions and concerns to Bayernwerk Netz. We advised our customer to hold an online dialogue event as a livestream and successfully implemented it together with them.

    The right online platform: it has to be simple!

    It was important for us to select an online application for the event that exactly met Bayernwerk Netz's needs:

    • Unlimited number of participants
    • Easy access for guests without installation
    • Intuitive operation and clear functions
    • Guests can join in online via sound and vision
    • The moderator can deactivate the sound transmission of the guests to avoid background noise during the event
    • Chat function: All guests can chat with each other publicly as well as send messages bilaterally to the moderator to allow anonymous comments
    • Multi-window view: Guests see both the studio where the speakers are speaking and a presentation screen
    • Allow dial-in to the event by phone, without internet access (guests connected by phone could only hear the audio of the event, but could not see the livestream and chat)

    Also easily accessible online

    We paid particular attention to making access to the event as easy as possible and to making it accessible to people without internet access or who are afraid of online events.

    • With just one click on a link posted on the Bayernwerk Netz website, guests were able to enter the digital event room via their browser.
    • In addition to the link to the event room, we provided a quick guide for access as well as for the user interface.
    • Anyone who had technical difficulties accessing the info evening could call our hotline, which we set up especially for the event. Our team was able to solve technical challenges together with the citizens, so that all guests were well looked after.
    • With the possibility to dial in to the event by phone, people without internet access also had a chance to participate in the event.

    Preparations in terms of content and invitation to the information evening

    In addition to the technical and organisational preparations, we also supported the Bayernwerk team in preparing the content for the dialogue evening and in inviting the citizens. The target group for the online event were interested people from the communities through which the power line runs.

    • For the invitation to the event, we prepared publications in the official gazettes, notices in display boxes in the municipalities, a press release for the local press and a notice on the project website for Bayernwerk Netz.
    • In the run-up to the event, we drew up a detailed schedule and moderation guidelines for a structured dialogue event.
    • We prepared presentation material in the client's corporate design.
    • To ensure that the Bayernwerk team could also respond confidently to specific questions from the citizens, we anticipated a number of possible questions.

    In front of the camera with a good feeling: Please smile, we're going live!

    We broadcast the Bayernwerk Netz project team online from our studio in a livestream.

    • We designed the studio environment according to our client's corporate design.
    • Lighting, camera and sound technology were set up for optimal image and sound quality in the livestream.
    • Before the live broadcast, the Bayernwerk speakers were instructed for a confident appearance in front of the camera. We prepared the project team for the live situation in several rehearsal runs.

    Structuring the process, enabling interaction

    We moderated the information evening so that the Bayernwerk Netz project team and the citizens could talk to each other in an appreciative and structured manner.

    • Our moderator welcomed the participants, clarified all organisational questions, presented the agenda and guided them through the evening.
    • After each thematic section, the moderator invited questions. The participants' questions were taken from requests to speak and from the chat, summarised and submitted to the Bayernwerk team in a structured way.
    • We technically operated the online application during the event (e.g. shared content for all participants or stopped the audio transmission for guests with disturbing background noise).
    • Through the moderation, we facilitated the connection contact for the participants. Guests could send contact details to the moderator in a personal chat message so that Bayernwerk Netz could continue the individual dialogue beyond the event.

    Your contact person

    [Translate to English:] @orga19sb

    Nina Rittler
    +49 911 530 63-122
    nri[at]kaltwasser.de

    We always adapt an online format to the individual needs of our client.

    Because there is no patent remedy. The implementation always depends on the exact objective."