Jasmin Wölke hosts specialist and business congresses in English and German, including formats that run across several days and several stages. She moderated the Digital Transformation Conference bilingually over three days, with more than 600 participants and 20 speakers.
A congress is not a one day conference
A congress usually runs for two or three days, takes place in a congress centre and spreads its programme across several halls. Behind the agenda stands an association, a professional society or an organiser with a programme committee. An exhibition area and an evening programme are often part of the package. For the moderator this changes the job. She is not guiding one room through one day. She is holding together a programme that runs in several places at once, in front of an audience that changes from session to session. For the compact one day format, see the conference moderation page.
The main stage is what keeps a congress together
Between the plenary and the parallel tracks, a congress can easily lose its thread. Participants split up into sessions, return at different times and have heard different talks. The host of the main stage is the constant. She opens the plenary, connects what happened in the tracks, starts day two with a short recap and closes the congress so that its central messages stand one more time. Even a delegate who attends only one day experiences a complete arc.
Preparation over weeks, alignment every congress morning
Preparation starts with the people responsible for the programme: the goals of the congress, the dramaturgy of each day, sensitive topics, the correct pronunciation of names. Jasmin holds preliminary calls with keynote speakers and panellists so that introductions and follow up questions carry weight. Panels inside the congress get their own briefing, as described on the panel discussion page. Every congress day begins with a short alignment with the production team: what has shifted, who has dropped out, where the schedule needs buffer. Her foundation is more than ten years at Bosch in international sales and marketing. She knows the topics discussed at business congresses from her own work.
Scientific or commercial, German or English
Specialist congresses run by associations, scientific congresses with a programme committee, business congresses with an international audience: the stage work is similar, the language often is not. Jasmin hosts in English, in German or switching between both, see the bilingual moderation page. She was lead host of the International Business Summit: two days, 15 sessions, more than 400 participants. All projects are listed under references.