How EUvsVirus initiative used Samba Live for their online event

The whole world was caught by surprise earlier this year, with the spread of the coronavirus and the pandemic which followed it. Nobody was prepared for what was coming. Entire countries were under extreme pressure, but governments and organizations quickly started preparing a response to the COVID-19 crisis. One of the initiatives that were started after the onset of the pandemic was the EUvsVirus Program.

This is a three-part initiative organized by the European Commission in order to develop innovative solutions in fighting the coronavirus and helping countries implement the best strategies for social recovery.

The second part of this initiative was the Matchathon, an online event which purpose was to connect the winning participants with organizations that can implement their knowledge and expertise. Among these were venture capitalists, corporate managers, investors and universities.

What was essential for the success of this online event?

From a technical standpoint, the most important aspect was the choice of the right (video) conferencing platform. Since the Matchathon was conceived as an online event, all interviews, meetings and presentations would be conducted remotely.

The chosen platform would, therefore, have to work perfectly and offer full support in case of any emergencies or technical issues.

What was required from the video conferencing platform?

• A stable connection, without breaks, for prolonged periods of time
• High-definition quality of the video signal
• Screen-sharing and slide-sharing options for all the participants
• Live streaming option for every video conference
• Q&A option, so that participants could converse

All of the above (and much more) was possible on Samba Live, and we are proud and happy that the EUvsVIRUS initiative chose our video conferencing platform for their online event.

The Matchathon

The EUvsVirus initiative stirred a big interest and over 30,000 people applied to participate in this major conference.

Close to 2,200 projects were submitted, after which the jury selected 117 people as the finalists and winners that would take part in the Matchathon. The Demo day was on May 21 and the actual Matchathon from May 22 to May 25.

Organization

Participants of the event connected to the online conference from their homes. Team leaders (in charge of the presentation of their project) had 30 seconds each to pitch their ideas to the investors and institutions.

The calls were conducted across the continent, which means that the video signal had to be clear and the connection stable for each and every pitch.

In order for everything to run as smoothly as possible, special calls were conducted for the coordination mentors (these mentors were in charge of planning and team coordination). During these calls, each mentor learned how to conduct their assigned teams in the most optimal way.

The big achievement

The key objective of Digital Samba was to show and prove that Samba Live is fully capable of handling large meetings with high attendance, without any major problems that would affect the quality of the conference.

During this online event, at least one large-scale webinar was held, with close to 400 participants from all corners of Europe. The webinar lasted approximately two hours and went on without any technical issues, which is in itself a big plus for the platform. The whole event was also live streamed on Facebook.

Samba Live showcased what it can do and how it can be a leading platform in video conferencing, helping bring people together and facilitating remote work.

Record success!

EUvsVirus set a bar higher for these types of online events. The initiative became a big success, connecting people from all walks of life working together for a common cause.

Here are the stats:

• 500 new partnerships
• 700+ curated meetings
• 400+ partners
• 120 projects
• 40 countries

What happens next?

Samba Live is ready for new, upcoming challenges. This was a wonderful experience, for both the organizers and participants, as well as the entire team at Digital Samba.

But this is just the beginning! If you are planning an online event, or need a reliable, affordable and feature-rich platform for hosting your video conferences, Samba Live is waiting for you. Feel free to reach out here to our team with your ideas and plans!