EUSEW 2024: how to make your policy session a success

With European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2024 taking place next June, now is the time to learn how you can apply to host a policy session and discover the best way to make your application stand out from the crowd.

The 18th edition of the EUSEW Policy Conference is committed to fostering creativity in session formats, aiming to diversify the landscape with engaging platforms such as debates, workshops, fireside chats, panel discussions, soapbox sessions, and more – all ideas are welcome! We invite innovators and thought leaders to explore unconventional formats offering fresh perspectives in the realm of sustainable energy.

Ensure your application to host a policy session at EUSEW 2024 is successful by taking a few moments to study the guidelines. These criteria already provide a valuable resource to check out before applying, but the following pointers will help you to create an exceptional application that catches the eye of the judging panel.

Relevance: why should attendees listen to you?

The topic for your session must be at the core of your presentation and offer insights that reflect this year’s theme of ‘Net-zero energy solutions for a competitive Europe’. Whether your focus is on promoting best practices, decarbonising the supply chain or investing in new sustainable technologies, make sure that your subject area and speakers contribute to the current conversation in a meaningful way.

Ask yourself why this particular debate should be part of EUSEW 2024. What makes this area of work so pertinent at this point in time? Furthermore, how will members of the EUSEW community benefit from taking part in this discussion?

Originality: what is new?

Think about what is most exciting, surprising or unique about your work. How can you make your application and your session stand out from the others while covering a similar theme?

Is your work or that of partner organisations genuinely groundbreaking, does it combine a local perspective with a pan-European overview?

If you can clearly communicate what makes your content unique, you are on the right path!

Different viewpoints: the key to a fruitful discussion

Choose your session partners and speakers with care, ensuring they reflect a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds and organisations. Hearing a presentation based on different fields of expertise will stimulate a lively and productive debate among attendees. When choosing speakers from different institutions, it is important that they reflect both gender balance and geographical diversity.

Plan ahead: line up your speakers well in advance

Effective public speakers are crucial to a constructive policy session and top experts will be in high demand, so make sure to secure them for your panel as soon as possible. Preference will be given to those applications that can confirm the participation of their speakers.

Interactivity: help your speakers and audience find their voice

A poll, quiz or other form of icebreaker gets people talking, leading to a more productive discussion and better questions – both during and after the session.

Instead of reading out speaker bios, how about introducing your presenters through an entertaining quiz? Like the popular game ‘Two Truths and a Lie’, create a poll for each presenter featuring two true statements and one fictional about them. Ask the audience to guess which statement is false. Once the correct answers are revealed, you can invite the speaker to share their background history. This approach not only helps presenters feel more comfortable, but also sparks the audience’s interest in their stories.

You can also raise the energy in the room and gain people’s attention through a live poll with the audience. After the opening remarks, use it to lighten the mood and engage your participants to reveal their interests, priorities and concerns. Alternatively, invite each attendee to ask the person sitting next to them to come up with an insightful question.

Remember to research your audience and ask yourself the question, how can I keep them interested and involved during the entire session? When is the best time to introduce engagement activities?

Apply now to host a policy session and discover other opportunities for getting involved in EUSEW 2024. Make sure you are on our mailing list to get the latest information about the event.