AG ARK Annual Conference: Exploring Science in the Digital Age

AG ARK Annual Conference virtual platform rainforest design

The Working Group for Amphibian and Reptile Diseases (AG ARK) of the German Society for Herpetology and Herpetoculture (DGHT e.V.) is the largest working group of its kind in Europe. With more than 450 members from German-speaking countries, it brings together veterinarians who specialise in a field that remains a niche to this day. When the group decided to hold its annual conference entirely online for the first time, MEETYOO provided the platform.

The challenge

An established scientific conference going digital for the first time. The platform needed to meet the high professional standards of a specialist audience while handling access control, networking, and thematic design.

The solution

MEETYOO delivered the conference with a custom rainforest-themed design, an exclusive access control system, digital break chat rooms for networking, and an interactive agenda with live streaming and Q&A.

The result

A successful digital premiere with overwhelmingly positive feedback. As one participant put it: "The platform created an atmosphere remarkably close to an in-person event."

Design that carries the theme

A digital event lives not just on its content but on its atmosphere. For AG ARK, MEETYOO built a platform that made the conference theme immediately tangible. Participants stepped into a virtual rainforest populated with chameleons, terrariums, and snakes. This was not decoration for its own sake: it signalled from the first moment that this was not a generic online meeting, but an event with character and professional identity.

This creative environment was explicitly praised in participant feedback. The thematic design and the clear structure of the platform ranked among the most frequently cited highlights of the entire conference.

Exclusive access for a specialist audience

Scientific conferences address a clearly defined community. AG ARK needed a system that ensured only authorised participants could access the platform. MEETYOO built a solution that automatically matched participant lists against registration data and reliably incorporated last-minute sign-ups without disrupting the live event. Even changes made right up to the start of the conference were integrated seamlessly.

Networking in the breaks

The informal conversations that happen over coffee are often what participants value most about a professional conference. In a digital format, exactly this element is at risk of being lost. MEETYOO addressed this with integrated break chat rooms: dedicated digital spaces where participants could spontaneously join small group video conversations during the breaks between sessions.

These rooms were actively used throughout the conference. The ability to make personal connections and hold spontaneous conversations in a digital setting was highlighted by participants as one of the strongest elements of the event.

Interactive programme and structured agenda

The conference programme covered a wide range of topics in amphibian and reptile medicine, with a spotlight on ophthalmology including a masterclass by recognised expert Dr. Tom Hellebuyck. All sessions were live-streamed, with participants able to direct questions to speakers in real time. An interactive agenda with automatic notifications ensured that nobody lost track, and intuitive navigation kept every session just one click away.

What participants said

Participant feedback was clearly positive across the board. The thematic design, the reliable technical features, and the networking opportunities through the break chat rooms were the most frequently praised elements. One participant summed it up: "The platform created an atmosphere remarkably close to an in-person event."

For AG ARK, a working group that has held its annual conference since 1993, this was the first edition to go entirely digital. That this debut ran so smoothly and was received so positively was the result of close collaboration between the MEETYOO team and the AG ARK organisers, in which even last-minute changes were reliably implemented.