Virtual Event Guide
- Attend our preview for event organizers on Feb 7
- Watch the live broadcast on YouTube on Feb 14
- Local organizers watch the livestream & share your screen in a virtual room
- Alternating between the live program & crowdsourcing activity times.
- Creating community both near and far
- Virtual events can happen after Feb 14th
- Special Zoom Background
- Want a sneak preview? Check out last year’s livestream
Virtual groups welcomed!
We are delighted to welcome all groups to our celebration of Douglass Day. Please see our Organizing Kit for resources and general guidance on holding events for Douglass Day.
We know that many groups prefer to gather online in a virtual space, but that these gatherings can present their own challenges & opportunities. Below we have compiled some of our proven practices and strategies. If you see any needs — or possible info to share with your fellow organizers — please feel free to send us an email. We’re always delighted to share the knowledge!
Attend our preview for event organizers on Feb 7
On February 7th from 12-1pm EST, our team will hold a preview of the full program. We’ll share some of the resources we have compiled for everyone to use. Our crowdsourcing team will offer a tutorial on the crowdsourcing project for this year’s program. Lastly, we’ll have time to Q&A and to share strategies for hosting in-person and virtual events. A recording of this preview will remain on our YouTube channel afterwards.
Watch the live broadcast on YouTube on Feb 14
Following past years, we are going to have a live broadcast program on February 14 from 12-3pm EST. We are going to feature a great lineup of speakers and offer a helpful tutorial on transcribing using the Library of Congress’ By The People crowdsourcing platform. The live broadcast will be available on our YouTube. You’ll be able to find the direct link on our homepage on the morning of February 14th.
Local organizers watch the livestream & share your screen in a virtual room
- Organize a Zoom/Webex zoom (or use other videoconference software)
- Share the link or invitation with everyone who will attend your local event
- Watch the live program in your browser
- Share your screen with your Zoom/Webex/other software so that everyone can watch together
- Stop sharing your screen during transcribing time, but leave your local room open for people to minimize during the break.
Alternating between the live program & crowdsourcing activity times.
We will run the live program for about 30 minutes, followed by time for transcribing. (We also recommend splitting people into breakout rooms to have space to chat while we transcribe together in virtual community.)
Our schedule is available now in our Organizing Kit (see full schedule).
Comments? Questions? Not sure about the process? Please don’t hesitate to contact us at douglassdayorg at gmail dot com. And remember that we are offering a live demo on Monday, February 7th via our YouTube channel.
Creating community both near and far
Mostly, we’re going to hold on to many of the classic Douglass Day activities.
- We’ll transcribe in groups, and can even expand on our Outreach Guide.
- We’ll sing together – both happy birthday and “Lift Every Voice and Sing”.
- We’ll share our cool finds on social media using #DouglassDay on Twitter.
- We’ll have lots of fun swag, stickers, and more. (graphics & stickers coming soon!)
Let’s see if we can’t find new ways to build some community around the event this year. Please join us!
Virtual events can happen after Feb 14th
We expect to finish most of the materials during the event on Douglass Day, but there may be materials that remain online for people to help transcribe, search, and more.
If your group would like to participate after February 14th, please drop us an email (douglassdayorg at gmail dot come) to let us know your event’s details (date, time, # of people, etc). We’ll do our best to have a member of our team available for troubleshooting, interacting on social media, and any other needs your groups might have. If need be, we can accelerate the release of new groups of materials for your group, time and labor depending.
Special Zoom Background
Want a sneak preview? Check out last year’s livestream
This year we will be following the same format as last year. If you navigate to our YouTube channel, you can see a similar program from last year.
February 12, 2023 Livestream (3:07:49). For a detailed guide to this video, see the 2023 program & schedule.