Explains in detail the procedure,protocol and etiquette of attending international conferences and meetings by the public servants

1. Shahid Hussain Raja
Independent Consultant-Public Policy
www.sanoconsultants.co.uk

2.  Introduction
 Types of Conferences
 Pre-departure Issues
 Things to do at Arrival
 How to Attend
 Post –Conference Issues
 Extra Things to do
 Conclusion

3.  Most of you will be attending international
conferences during your career
 Unfortunately majority go without proper
preparation, losing a golden opportunity to
represent your country, advance national
interest, learn new skills and broaden your
mental horizon
 Following slides contain guidelines to take
meaningful participation in these conferences

4.  Broadly there are two types of conferences
Sponsored by UN agencies
Sponsored by other agencies
 Mostly you will be only attending these conferences
but in some you will have to take decisions on behalf
of your government
 In some cases you are required to read a report or a
paper ,highlighting your country’s point of view on
the issue under discussion

5.  Obtaining permission of the competent
authority to attend the conference
 Arrangement of funding –official as well as
personal
 Preparation of report and its formal approval
by the head of department
 Contacting foreign office and through it, the
embassy of your country in the host country

6.  Flight reservation as well as hotel booking as
per your entitlement and its intimation to
your embassy
 Preparation of luggage ad essential things to
take with you i.e. documents, cards, gifts,
clothing, medicines
 Do get yourself medically insured as it is
included in your cost of travelling abroad.

7.  Hold detailed discussion with the concerned
officer of the embassy and sort out the
strategy to adopt during the conference.
 Find out the protocol to be followed and
etiquette to be observed if attending for the
first time
 Also the sensitive issues to take care of

8.  Arrive fairly before the time to avoid the first
day’s registration rush
 Once inside the hall and properly seated
examine the layout and get yourself
familiarized with the surrounding
 Then start meeting different delegates,
starting with your immediate neighbours and
the ones with whom your country has special
relations

9.  You must be in your seat when the final bell rings
and listen carefully to the agenda for the day using
the multi-lingual head phones installed at every seat
 After the election of the chairperson and the vice
chairperson for the day, which had already been
decided by the sponsors a day earlier, the conference
starts
 Let few speakers speak before you raise your
nameplate to indicate that you will also like to speak
at your turn
 When noticed by the chairperson of the day, put your
nameplate vertically in front of your seat

10.  Take notes of what the speakers are saying as
you may have to reply if any point relating to
your country is discussed by any of them.
 When you are called to speak, start with the
greetings to all according to the time of the day
 Afterwards thank the chair for giving you the
time to speak and congratulate both of them on
their election as chairperson/vice chairperson of
the day

11.  Greet the audience if some important event
/festival has passed or is nearby i.e.
Christmas, Eid, New year etc.
 Show your sympathy to the representatives of
the country where some disaster has struck
recently i.e. tsunami, earthquake etc.
 Start by endorsing what previous speakers
have said if you agree with what they have
said

12.  Now start by reading from your report you
have got approved from your head of
department, suitably amended up till now
 Do not try to speak extempore as it may land
you in trouble
 Give a copy of your report in advance to the
rapporteur of the conference as it will be
helpful for the interpreters as well as the
rapporteur for compiling the report

13.  Keep on addressing the chair after every one or two
paragraphs and do look to them as often as possible
 Try to vary the tone of your voice and avoid
monotonous reading of the written text
 Once finished ,thank the chair as well as the audience
for patient listening and straighten your nameplate
 Keep on taking the notes during the conference and
do request the chair to allow you to speak again if
someone has made remarks which you need to clarify

14.  If you have to read a paper or make a
presentation ,then you will be invited to the dais
by the chair on your turn
 Make sure that the copies of your speech have
already been distributed among the participants
and are not delivered during your speech.
 Keeping eye contact with the audience, often
addressing the chair and varying your voice are
essential etiquette of any conference

15.  Prepare draft note and hand it over to the
concerned officer of the embassy
 Discuss the draft report with the Ambassador
/Charge D’Affairs of the embassy if there are
important actions to be taken immediately
 Submit final report to the head of department as
soon as you arrive back in the country
 Distribute its copies to the concerned officers
after its approval by the competent authority

16.  Keep yourself fully abreast of facts and figures about your
country .These should be at your finger tips.
 You should be fully aware of all the details of any
current/burning issue relating to your country which could
come up for discussion during an informal meeting with
any delegate
 Never skip any official lunch/dinner as these are excellent
opportunities to represent your country in a relaxed
atmosphere
 Do show your interest in other countries by asking
intelligent questions from their representatives during the
breaks/lunches but never crack jokes about a country on
the basis of any stereotype classification

17.  Representing your country in an international
conference is an honour for a civil servant
 Full preparation before departing, dutifully
attending the conference and submitting
detailed report about the proceedings of the
conference and action points are a must for
meaningful participation

18.  Thank you for viewing the presentation
 Its updated article version is available at my
website www.shahidhussainraja.com
 Kindly do visit the above website and leave
your comments there
 Any suggestion for improvement will be duly
acknowledged