Until a week before NULISTICE 2018, many were still asking: “What is this NULISTICE thing by the way?” Many were still saying, “…never heard about it!” Therefore, as much as we were certain about close to 100 participants from other countries, we were very skeptical about local participation, especially from NUL, where the response was only lukewarm. Even until a day before!
We had not forgotten that we had to personally request a number of colleagues, either over the phone, or by physically visiting their offices. With 10 of us organizing committee members, 10 student-volunteers, 10 expected from the NUL Management, roughly 20 from the Government (that included a handful from Ministry of Communication, Science & Technology, who were partnering us in organizing the conference), and a few from media and other sectors… the expected total was somewhere between 150 to 170. Certainly not beyond 200!
Day 1: Tuesday 23rd January. The day started with an audio-less live-broadcast of the Vice-Chancellor’s interview on LTV’s breakfast-program. The members of the organizing committee and the student-volunteers had already reached the venue. Reception desk, office space as well as the Machache hall, were all organized and we were ready for the big moment.
However, until 8.30 AM, signs were not great. The international participants, we knew, were already in their respective hotels, probably waiting to be picked-up by the shuttles. But, our minds were still full of doubts… with the fear of a possible failure!
By 9.00, there was a queue of about 25-30 people, comprising of both the local, as well as the international visitors, seen lined up in front of the Reception. It was gradually warming up. But by 9.30, imagine our surprise when we were told that the number of attendees, who had signed the registration-sheets, was approaching 300. Knowing that the international participants were still the same, one would question: How come people didn’t know about it until a day before, and suddenly, everyone seemed to be interested?
How do we measure the success of an event? From the density of gathering? Attendance beyond expectations?
NULISTICE2018 had it all. See the group-photo. Photographers with wide-angle lenses struggled to capture width of the assembly. To add to this, the organizers didn’t get their conference bags and stationeries… Some, not even the lunch on the opening day because the hosts were supposed to eat last! Simply because the preparations were aimed at 200, or a maximum of 225 participants, not for 300 plus!
Clearly, NULISTICE 2018 had arrived. And, with a bang. It was obviously a super-hit, even for those from the unenthusiastic herds. It was a resounding success
The joint Plenary Session titled “Translate Research into Practice” with sister symposium RERIS, immediately after the tea-break was a house-full. Many were seen standing near the doors of Machache hall.
After the lunch, the crowd was a bit relaxed. Those who were interested only in the opening session had already left after lunch. Also, the RERIS participants had moved downstairs for their parallel sessions. Surprisingly, everything was moving reasonably well within the scheduled time-table. The half-an-hour delay due to a long Opening Session was adequately covered by the lunch-time.