While the COVID-19 pandemic has been horrible, there are positives for the genealogy community.
Apart from being able to do some of our research online and receiving free at-home access to Ancestry from our local public library, we’ve benefitted by being able to attend dozens of societies’ virtual meetings and conferences.
For example, the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) is holding a virtual conference in September with a stellar line-up of speakers, and at $CDN45 it’s much cheaper than their past in-person conferences.
I’ve attended several BIFHSGO conferences in person and I’ve only been able to attend less than half the presentations. This year, I’ll have the opportunity to attend all of them live or recorded.
The theme of the conference is Irish Lines and Female Finds and it features Irish genealogy research, female ancestors, and DNA.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks a virtual conference is a great opportunity.
Since registration opened a week ago, BIFHSGO has seen registrants from as far away as Australia and the United Kingdom, as well as registrations from five Canadian provinces and 11 American states.
To see what is attracting people, visit the conference website for program details and to register.
Of course, there are some things I miss from the in-person conferences, such as meeting old friends, making new friends, browsing the marketplace, nightly “debriefing” sessions in our hotel room with a glass or two of Chardonnay, and the free pen in my swag bag.
Still, with the money I’ve saved from not having to pay for a hotel room and meals, I can probably afford to buy an extra bottle of wine and my own pen.
