Planning Webinars

Do you want to plan a APECS webinar? Here is a step by step list of what has to be done during the planning process of webinars. The earlier you plan your webinars, the better as there are many groups in APECS organizing webinars.

© Deniz Vural, Jilda Caccavo, MariamaDryak, Cynthia Sassenroth, Matias Ricardo (left to right) 

• Step 1: Content Planning

  Develop your topic(s) and come up with a list of possible speakers. Topics can cover anything from career development, education and outreach and research topics related to the Polar and Alpine regions and the wider Cryosphere.

• Step 2: Finding a time and date for your webinar

  Check with the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to a discuss a good time during the year to organize your webinars.

  Contact the speakers to see if they would be willing to do the webinar and find out possible dates they would be available (remember to plan early as some speakers might be very busy!). Also ask them for at least 1 - 2 alternative dates in case their first choice is not available anymore.

  Check the APECS Zoom License Calendar to see if your desired time is available (if not you have to reschedule with your speaker). APECS has only one license so there can only be one meeting / webinar at a time.

• Step 3: Booking the APECS Zoom System for your webinar

  If your designed time is available, fill out our online booking form. Once filled out, the APECS International Directorate will add your event to the APECS Zoom Licence Calendar. Requests are processed by order of submission and time slots are given out on a first come first served basis. Once you see your event listed in the APECS Zoom License Calendar, the time is confirmed for your meeting / webinar.

  After the webinar time has been confirmed by APECS and your speaker has confirmed the date / time, you need to book the webinar in the APECS Zoom system itself. can book the webinar in the APECS Zoom system itself. APECS is paying for a licence that all APECS webinars can use (so do not sign up for any free trial versions!). If you do not have access to our Zoom system, please contact the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so they can either:
  a) give you access to our Zoom license (reserved ExCom and Council members and selected others members and partners), or
  b) book the system for you and find someone with access to our Zoom account to provide technical assistance for you during your webinar.

  Your speakers will be added as “panelists” into the Zoom system so that they get their own special log in (with which they can log in earlier than the audience members on the day of the webinar).

  ALWAYS use GMT / UTC for booking your times in Zoom (we have preset the system to choosing that time zone).

  You can create a custom registration form for your webinar audience to e.g. collect data like “country of residence” or “career status”.

  A registration link will be created by Zoom that you can use for advertising the webinar and getting people to register for your webinar. Each participant will be sent automatically by Zoom the actual link to join the webinar after registration.

• Step 4: Advertising your Webinar

  Webinars should be advertised a minimum of 2 weeks before the webinar to give our members enough time to register!

  Minimum of 3 weeks before the webinar: Prepare your announcement and any flyer that you want to use. The advertisement has to contain the:

  • Title of the webinar
  • Date and time of the webinar (in GMT!)
  • Name and affiliation of the speaker
  • Registration link
  • A one-paragraph description of the content of the webinar
  • If possible either a picture or a flyer (flyer is good for advertising on social media!)

  A minimum of 3 weeks before the webinar: Send your draft announcement to the APECS International Directorate (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and ask them to check your announcement text (mistakes can always happen and so it’s good to have a second / third pair of eyes check it). They will check if:

  • all necessary information is included
  • listed times are correct (reconfirm the GMT conversion)
  • registration link is correct (reconfirm the link by logging into Zoom)
  • Language of the text

  A minimum of 2 weeks before the webinar: After your announcement has been checked, the APECS Office will post it on the website and send it through the APECS mailing list.

  After the APECS Office has posted your announcement on the website and sent it through the main mailing list, they will inform the Social Media Project Group to spread the info via the APECS social media channels.

  After that you can distribute it further to any mailing lists and social media that you see fit.

• Step 5: Confirm the regulations and fill in the letter of indemnity!!!

  Please make sure that all speakers read and follow the following regulations:

  It is the presenters, who are liable for the presented content and any materials used in them. Please make sure before uploading your content, that no third party rights will be infringed. In no event APECS shall be held liable for any damages (including but not limited to copyright violations) arising from the presented content. Please make sure that you do not present content from others without knowing the usage rights, having permission to use them and always cite correctly.

  To prove that you as a speaker/presenter read the regulations please always fill in this letter of indemnity before your webinar starts. 

• Step 6: Final preparations

  While people are registering for your webinar, ask your speaker if they would like to organise a test session to check Zoom (not everyone is familiar with the system).

  If you yourself need training with Zoom, ask the APECS webinar project group to organize a quick training session for you.

• Step 7: On the day of the webinar

  Log into Zoom with the organiser username / password or wait for the technical help to start the session for you.

  The speaker should log in with the panelist link you had sent them so that during the call they are able to share their screen with their presentation.

  Make sure to log in ca. 15 min before the start (to give you and the speaker enough time check audio settings and the power point / video sharing).

  When you want to start the webinar, click “start recording”, so you can record the webinar session

  After the webinar, please save the recording to your computer and upload it afterwards to the APECS vimeo account (contact the APECS office for the password) so it can be distributed farther. Also ask the APECS office to add the webinar to the APECS webinar archive.