What are the dates of this year’s conference?
Best Buddies Leadership Conference will be held Tuesday, July 13, 2021 through Thursday, July 15, 2021.
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
BBLC Training
1:00 pm – 6:00 pm ET (10:00 am – 3:00 pm PT)
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
BBLC Workshops
3:00 pm – 6:00 pm ET (12:00 pm – 3:00 pm PT)
BBLC Celebration
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm ET (4:00 pm – 5:00 pm PT)
Thursday, July 15, 2021
BBLC Training
1:00 pm – 6:00 pm ET (10:00 am – 3:00 pm PT)
Who can attend this year’s conference?
Best Buddies Leadership Conference training sessions are for active Best Buddies chapter leaders and community leaders, which include the following:
- Advisor: attending as an advisor or host site coordinator at any school level (elementary school, middle school, high school, or college)
- Ambassador: attending to participate in public speaking and self-advocacy training
- College, High School or Middle School: attending as a chapter president or officer in your school chapter
- Community Leaders: attending as a board member or committee member for your local Best Buddies office
- Corporate Partner: attending as an employer partner or corporate leader (by invitation)
- Jobs: attending to participate in job development training
Wednesday’s conference celebration will be broadcast live for the global Best Buddies community via the Best Buddies Leadership Conference website and social media channels.
How much does this year’s conference cost?
Best Buddies’ virtual conference experience is open to a limited number of participants* for free.
*Includes additional chapter officers, ambassadors, jobs participants, community leaders, and advisors.
How will the conference be held?
Best Buddies Leadership Conference will be hosted via the Hubb platform. This is an online event platform that requires internet connection to attend. Training sessions, including conference keynote, education sessions, and networking groups, will consist of interactive live presentations, webinars and pre-recorded videos.
The Wednesday evening celebration will be open to all of Best Buddies volunteers, leaders, supporters, and the general community via the BBLC website and social media channels.
Following the live broadcast, all sessions and content recordings will be available on-demand.
How do I register for BBLC?
You can register for BBLC right here on the site: REGISTER. Please be sure to register by July 9 so that you have adequate time to select the sessions you wish to attend.
What if I’m not in Best Buddies, but I’m excited to participate?
We want you to participate (BBLC is our favorite for a reason – the more the merrier!). Please mark your calendar for Wednesday’s conference celebration at 7:00pm ET. This event will offer all Best Buddies enthusiasts the chance to see our mission in action, hear from incredible performers, and see what our organization is all about!
When will I receive instructions on how to attend?
You will receive a welcome note with login instructions prior to the conference in the beginning of July. This will guide you on how to log into Hubb and attend the conference.
Do I have to attend every day the full day?
Best Buddies Leadership Conference is designed to prepare leaders to drive the mission forward for the upcoming year. It is recommended to attend as many sessions in your track as you are able.
Most sessions will be recorded and able to view for a month after conference. Live keynotes and roundtable discussions are best viewed live so you can interact with your peers and join the discussion.
Will I be on camera during the conference?
Only presenters will be visible during the streaming portions of conference.
For roundtables and networking sessions you may choose to turn your camera on.
Additional questions
Find us at leadershipconference@bestbuddies.org or contact your local Best Buddies office staff with more questions.
How do I log into the virtual event website?
An email was sent to the email address you registered for BBLC with on Tuesday, July 6. This email will have come to you from bblc@dynamicevents.com To initially login to the event URL, you will need to access the link within the email that is unique to your registration, and then create a password. From that point, we recommend you bookmark the site URL as well as your login and password details. This information will be how you login into the site after you initially create a login. Any questions? Reach out to bblc@dynamicevents.com
I have already logged in before and now I can’t remember my password – how do I reset it?
On the homepage there is a FORGOT PASSWORD option which will send you an email to reset. This will only work if you have already claimed your invite from the email first. Please be sure to use the same email address you originally registered with when requesting the forgot password.
What is the best way to view the virtual site?
We recommend using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge for browsing the virtual site from your computer. Please note that although Internet Explorer will work for using the site, it is not the most productive for some of the unique virtual features we have set up for you to experience. You can also view the site from your cell phone or tablet.
Can I access this on my tablet or phone?
While the site is optimized for tablet and phone, the best viewing experience will be from a desktop or laptop computer.
What time zone is the event in? Is it possible to change the time zone?
Yes! A new feature this year is to select the time zone you are in to see the sessions in your desired time. When you first login to the site, you will be prompted to choose your time zone. After that, you can always change it from the Sessions Page and clicking on the time zone at the top of the screen.
The video is unable to play during an Interactive or On Demand session.
Interactive Session videos will appear at their scheduled time for it to start. All videos are set to auto play, if they do not start you should have the option to click Play on the video.
If not, please try to refresh your web browser and log out and log back in. If the video is still not playing, please try another browser such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Firefox.
The video is buffering, any suggestions on how to fix this?
This is likely due to your internet bandwidth. We recommend you pause the video for a few minutes to allow it to load and catch up, then press play. Also try opening a private window (Ctrl, Shift, n) and ensure you don’t have a VPN, or any firewalls turned on.
I am unable to see the chat feature, what do I do?
The chat feature is at the bottom of the screen during an Interactive Session, below the video recording, a user may have to scroll down to access the chat.
The video is playing but there is no sound
Ensure your device controls or audio panel are unmuted. If problem persists, please reach out to Live Chat which will be available on the site beginning on July 12.
What are the different learning types of available?
Interactive Sessions
The interactive sessions will be open for participation based on your registration track immediately following our Keynote Presentation on Friday. These begin at 12:30pm ET/9:30am PT and will allow you to engage and learn from our outstanding speakers with a more personalized approach. You will have the opportunity to directly ask questions and converse with the presenter using our interactive chat feature. Speakers leading these sessions offer a range of expertise, from disability rights and advocacy, leadership, virtual engagement, and resilience.
To ensure you don’t miss any of these incredible speakers, be sure to review the offerings on the BBLC agenda ahead of conference and design your schedule so you can participate in all of your favorite sessions. Please review the Attendee Guide to learn how to add sessions to your schedule.
Peer to Peer Roundtables
Peer to Peer Roundtables provide each attendee the unique opportunity to do what everyone loves most at a conference – chat with your peers! While we know this conference will be different this year since we won’t be able to be together in person, we hope you are able to join us for meaningful conversation, thoughtful idea-sharing, and brainstorming. These roundtables will be offered following the Interactive Sessions on Friday; they will be offered in 30-minute blocks from 3:30pm ET – 6:00pm ET / 12:30pm PT – 3:30pm PT.
Roundtables will be offered to each track with specifically designed content and specially designated leaders who are experts in the topic. The roundtables will be capped at 25 participants to ensure small and engaging conversation is possible and comfortable for all involved. Be sure to sign up for your favorite roundtable topics early to save your seat. View the full conference agenda to see which topics and speakers will be hosting conversations that are relevant and important to you.
Chat Rooms
Chat Rooms offer a casual space for conference attendees to ask questions and learn best practices. There are chat rooms designated for important topics that are relevant to the success of each role in Best Buddies leadership. The chat rooms will be moderated by volunteer experts and staff who will be available throughout the afternoon to respond to questions, provide ideas, and help resolve challenges. The chat rooms are easy and informal; there is no need to sign up ahead of time, but attendees are encouraged to pop in and chat at their convenience throughout the afternoon. Chat rooms will be open from 3:30pm ET – 6:00pm ET / 12:30pm PT – 3:30pm PT; be sure to check the conference agenda to determine which topics you are most interested in asking questions and engaging leaders in.
How can I connect with speakers?
There are multiple ways to communicate with your friends or speakers. The site offers a few ways highlighted below:
- Interactive Session Chats: Speakers will be available through a chat window during their scheduled session time for Interactive Sessions. You can use this chat window much like a group text or even group direct message on your favorite social platforms. Anyone attending the session along with you can also chat in this feature to ask questions or share their excitement about the session! The speaker will be there to answer any questions you might have. Pro Tip, you can use your computers’ emoji keyboard to add more personality to the chat! Mac: ctrl+cmd+space PC: Wnds+.
- Peer-to-Peer Roundtables: Add peer to peer roundtables to your schedule for the opportunity to connect with leaders about a certain topic and join a small group interactive discussion via Zoom. Please note, peer to peer roundtables have limited capacity, please make sure to only add sessions you will attend!
- Speaker Directory: Did you miss the session you wanted to attend? That’s ok! The speakers can be reached through various outlets by searching for them in the speaker directory. If a speaker has elected to share their social sites, it will appear in their profile when you locate them in the directory.
How can I connect with other participants at the event?
We know how much fun it is to be with your peers at the in-person experience of BBLC, so we wanted to make sure to incorporate this into the virtual event. We’ve pulled together a few different ways to engage with each other throughout the conference that can be accessed within the virtual environment:
- NEW Connect page – check out the Connect page to find leadership influencers who can support your journey!
- Selfie Station – take a selfie and post it on social media using #BBLC2021
- Attendee Directory – find other peers and connect with them socially
- Peer-to-Peer Roundtables – peer to peer roundtables are available from the Session page and are small group discussions to collaborate and learn from one another
Where will the Keynote sessions take place?
New this year is the Center Stage where we will livestream! Join us here for our main keynote and social sessions. You can access this from the Session page or by choosing Center Stage on the left hand navigation.
Can I leave feedback for the sessions I attend?
Definitely! You can evaluate a session after it has concluded. To do this, once logged into the event platform, you can fill out a quick form for any session that you added to your schedule within the site. There is an Evaluation tab on the navigation pane that will populate any evaluations that are available to you.
I am showing as a certain registrant type (i.e. High School) and I should be a different one (i.e. College).
If you feel you should have access to other sessions that are not visible to you, please reach out to support at bblc@dynamicevents.com or Live Help Desk and let them know of the change that needs to be made to your registration.
Will the recorded sessions have closed captioning?
Yes, all recorded sessions will have the ability for the user to choose closed captioning for English.
If I leave the session page where the video is playing and come back later, will it start where I left off?
The video will not automatically save your watch time. You will need to start the video again, but if you know where you left off you can move to that point within the video. After sessions have ended, the video will be available any time to watch again.
How do I use the chat?
The chat will appear below the video and anyone who is signed into that session at the time will be able to chat with one another. The chat box is available on Interactive Sessions and the Speaker will be monitoring the chat during the scheduled session time, so please ask questions!
How do I join a Peer to Peer Roundtable?
Please find the Peer-to-Peer Roundtable you want to join on the session page and click Reserve a Seat. Once the meeting is on your schedule, the Virtual Link will appear on the session details page at the scheduled time for you to join the Zoom meeting room. Please note, this will take you to an external link to join the meeting. Peer to Peer Roundtables will be limited capacity and therefore, by adding the session to your calendar you are holding your “place” in the meeting. If you are unable to add a Peer to Peer to your schedule it is because the session is full.
Why can’t I get in to a Peer to Peer Roundtable?
The Peer-to-Peer Roundtable sessions are meant to be small interactive group discussion and therefore, have a limited capacity. If you are unable to join the session because it is full, please engage in our other activities such as OnDemand Sessions or find additional Peer to Peer sessions to book.
Is everything going to be available to watch after BBLC?
Yes! You will have the opportunity to continue to watch all the sessions post BBLC until August 31! So, take the time to come back and continue to learn. While the sessions and the chat features will not be monitored, you will have the opportunity to view what others asked during the live event on the interactive sessions.
How do I make sure my profile is showing in the Attendee Directory?
Please navigate to My Profile either on the left-hand navigation, or by clicking on your name in the top right corner and choosing My Profile. Update your photo, bio and all details about yourself that you would like to share. At the bottom make sure the box is checked that says “Show my profile in the community”
How do I use the Virtual Backgrounds on the Peer to Peer Round Table Zoom calls?
Navigate to the Brand Your Background page in the left-hand navigation and choose an image and right click and choose save image as – then save it to your desktop. Once you are in a Zoom meeting, click on the arrow next to Video and choose Virtual Backgrounds. Click on the + symbol and upload the image. Please note, some computers may not support virtual backgrounds.