Welcome to the digital manual of the DINA platform. On the following pages you will learn (almost) everything about the possibilities DINA provides for digital exchange!

We created this manual to facilitate good conferences in the digital space which within the DINA platform are based on a value-oriented infrastructure. The manual is intended to guide you through the DINA platform functionalities and to show you the possibilities it offers. The technical features of the DINA platform are described in detail in the "Functionalities" chapter, the "FAQs" provide a brief overview.

However, as technology alone does not make a good conference, in the chapter "Formats" we provide you with inspiration on how to bring people together digitally while creating an energetic and rewarding exchange. Of course, written text cannot fully cover some moderation skills in implementation, it takes a minimum of courage to try out new formats in a new digital environment. Adopting an experimental approach and getting participants in the mood for joint exploration are the most important prerequisites for digital event design - the rest is learning by doing!

The formats listed below are mostly designed for a group size of a maximum of 40 participants. On the one hand, there are technical reasons for this, as BigBlueButton - the video conferencing solution used in the DINA conference centre - reaches its transmission capacity with (at the most) 40 videos streamed simultaneously. On the other hand, we are also aware that the bigger the conference, the more effort goes into planning and support during implementation. We believe in formats that are interactive and invite and activate all participants to get involved and help shaping the conference. Delivering on this promise requires good moderation and also the possibility of providing a continuous live feedback loop (be it via audio track or chat). With increasing numbers of participants, implementing all this becomes more complicated. A well-planned session can easily turn into a complex event in which it is very challenging to ensure that the space is appealing to all different groups of people involved. In order not to overwhelm either the implementing team or the participants, we recommend not to exceed a group size of about 40 participants. If you wish to plan larger settings, get professional help: the betterplace lab which wrote this manual or the Stiftung Bürgermut (and for sure many others - also in your country) offer advice and implementation support.

The DINA Handbook is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence: Attribution - Non-Commercial - Sharing under the same terms 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Editors: Katja Jäger and Jan-Philipp Wagner (Betterplace Lab GmbH)

Angelika Wall, Jannik Knaack, Benjamin Vergien and Benjamin Holm (DRJA Foundation)

Grafik /Design: Björn Schmitz

Photography: Fotos: Maik Lüdemann / Nashorn Filmhaus KG

Publishers: STIFTUNG DRJA, MITTELWEG 117b, 20149 HAMBURG /info@stiftung-drja.de (for the portal partners)

Funding: Funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth

Portal partners: ConAct- Coordination Center for German-Israeli Youth

Exchange IJAB- International Youth Service

Franco-GermanYouth

Office German Polish

Youth Office Foundation for the German-Russian Youth Exchange

Edition: Version 1.0 20.03.2021

This manual is licensed under Licence.

The classic event format is the lecture, also known as a keynote. Participants play a receptive role, they listen. As far as the procedure is concerned, this format is very close to the analogue setting; the content is either streamed in the digital world or the speaker gets the largest share of speaking time in a shared room.

Room setup and group size

For a keynote address and depending on the size of the group, a decision should be made as to which conference room of the conference centre will be used:

• For small groups (<40 people): Everyone is in a workshop room. All participants have their microphones and, if necessary, cameras switched off, only the speakers can be seen. Participants can communicate with each other via Rocket.Chat, or - if desired - use the raise hand function to indicate a request to speak and then join in via their microphones on the audio track.

• For large groups (>40 people): Set up a stage room for streaming. The participants are in this stage room and can chat with each other via Rocket.Chat and, if necessary, also with the speaker. The speaker, however, streams from another workshop room created specifically for this purpose. In order for the speaker to have access to the chat with the participants, he or she must also enter their stage room in another browser tab or use the Rocket.Chat app via smartphone.

Implementation

When starting, the speakers can show their presentation slides. A short technical check is recommended to make sure that they can be heard well and that the slides can be seen - the participants can give feedback via chat. Before the actual presentation, it is advisable to briefly point out how to deal with questions. As in the analogue space, it is also advisable to deal with them after the presentation. If the speaker and participants are in a smaller group in the same workshop room, you can also encourage the group to express their approval with a signal of applause. This will give the speaker the feeling that they are not speaking to an empty room! If you have chosen the streaming setting for large groups, interaction during the presentation is not possible. Questions in the chat are usually only dealt with after the presentation has taken place, after all, the speaker is busy speaking.

Recommended technical settings for the keynote:

• Check that the speaker is visible and audible (micro/video settings) and has the rights to share his or her screen in order to show slides.

• All persons other than the speaker are muted and turn off their cameras to keep the focus on the speaker.

• For any recording (in consultation with the speaker): Start recording for the keynote and then stop recording immediately after the input allowing the Q&A session to take place in a protected space

The interactive minimum: Questions & Answers (Q&A)

Especially after a lecture-style input, you should give people the chance to ask questions and announce this in advance. In the DINA setup, you have the following options for Q&A implementation:

• Digital list of speakers: BigBlueButton allows for digital raising of hands via the status symbols - these can be used to create a list of speakers to be read out by the moderator. Alternatively, a physical reaction (raising one' s hand in front of the screen) can be requested (when the videos are activated).

• Written questions/comments in the chat: especially in a large group or if not everyone can use their mics/videos, asking questions/commenting via Rocket.Chat is a good option (for smaller groups also directly in the video chat). The speaker or a moderator can read the messages out loud and then respond to them.

• Popcorn style in a smaller group: Depending on the momentum, participants are asked to turn on their microphone in a "popcorn style" and ask a question/comment into the room.

It is a question of style whether to have the speaker respond directly to the questions/comments individually, or to collect some comments from the audience first and have the speaker respond collectively.

Getting together in the digital world offers many opportunities: meetings that are not tied to a specific location can overcome boundaries, you can involve many people at once and the whole thing can be really fun!

However, just as in the analogue world, an event's success and its content as well as its fun factor are not a given. There are a few special tricks in the digital world that require attention / cannot be done quite so intuitively:

Which aspects of the digital world require special attention?

• Social interaction per se does not work by itself. We have all been there before: you enter a digital meeting and either everyone else is just as silent as you are when entering the virtual room, or people are already talking excitedly and you don't really know how to get started. After all, you are the sole entertainer for a moment with your speech and this might put you under a lot of pressure. In the digital world, even loose chatter requires moderation.

• The digital attention span is shorter. Even face-to-face a full day event is exhausting but hardly possible to implement in the digital world. Digital meetings are exhausting, the brain is constantly in search of signals that do not come digitally and without automatic moments of movement such as changes of room and scene, a day easily seems three times as long. The programme in the digital world must therefore be streamlined (e.g., by omitting initially planned programme items) or be extended (e.g., to several days). The digital programme must be provided with sufficient breaks and small ice-breakers to remind us again and again that we are human beings and not robots staring at laptops.

• The atmosphere in the room cannot be picked up/sensed automatically. In the analogue world, the atmosphere in the room can be picked up quite easily. Is it quiet, is it loud, are people holding their heads at an angle or nodding slightly? Physical signals let us know what the energy level in the room is at any given moment. This subtle interpretation is much more difficult or even impossible in the digital world without sensory perception. In order to find out what the current state of the mood is or to create a good atmosphere, moments are required in which people can actively express themselves. Ice-breakers will lighten the atmosphere and agreed hand signals can be used to indicate a request for the floor or the need for spontaneous breaks.

• A well-moderated introduction is half the battle: The academic quarter of an hour which in the analogue makes events start with a generally accepted delay has not yet established itself in the digital setting. Digital meetings usually start on time, chatting opportunities should be identified in the programme (e.g., as "digital breakfast" or "digital coffee break") and should be moderated. An agreement should be made at the beginning of the official programme on how to communicate with each other throughout the session (via chat, via direct requests to speak...?). Furthermore, an announcement should be made on how much self-responsibility will be given to the participants in the event: Besides dealing with short "bio-breaks" (is it okay to leave the meeting for another tea at any time?), this also means: Are the participants listeners or co-creators of the meeting? If you want to start the conference in an activating way, we recommend starting with a participatory programme item (e.g., Impromptu Networking).

In the following texts, we will show you some specific formats that you can use to make a digital conference entertaining, energetic and as participatory as possible. The formats are sorted according to the desired goal of the respective programme item: from knowledge transfer (sharing knowledge) to the joint development of results (collaboration) to networking (networking), they provide you with inspiration and guidance for a successful digital event!

The new internet platform DINA.international is the result of a joint initiative of the specialised and funding agencies of European and international youth work. Its concept is simple and easily explained: two existing youth organisations, three bilateral coordination offices and the IJAB office founded a working group in May 2020 to better coordinate their digitalisation measures and to develop joint activities. The first joint project is a video and project planning platform that builds on the experience of the platforms Projektwelt (DRJA Foundation), TRIYOU (DPJW) as well as TRIYOU (DPJW) and Tele-Tandem (DFJW) while further developing them based on the experience during the pandemic. This platform offers digital spaces free of charge, free of advertising and in compliance with data protection laws. DINA.international is thus intended to contribute to effectively supporting the digital activities of the specialised and funding agencies as well as the activities of the providers and schools in their exchange. To this end, the platform provides a whole range of tools. By using the different tools together, the platform provides the technical prerequisite for the exchange actors to improve their networking and the potential for cooperation with each other and with their foreign partners. Amongst other things, they include the analysis of methods and experiences, joint work on topics or the search for participants or speakers, etc. DINA.international may be accessed via various landing pages of the specialised and funding agencies and will gradually be made available to all exchange partners.

What is the technology DINA.international is based on? Where does it come from? DINA.international is based on a web toolbox by Berlin cooperative "Wechange" and the open source software "BigBlueButton" as well as the messenger chat "ROCKET-CHAT”. Wechange and thus DINA.international provide spaces for collaborative work. "Wechange" is an active player in the eco-social change movement and provides its software on "green servers", privacy-checked and transparently funded, i.e. without analysing data. Fridays for Future or citizen participation platforms, among others, use this technology to collaborate and share their findings.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank betterplace lab for producing the first version of this manual! We wish you all lots of fun with DINA.international!

Your DINA team

At conferences, topics can be dealt with from different points of view developing concrete results. If the results are to be processed further at a later stage, it is particularly important to ensure that the results are documented (e.g., via a linked DINA project in a results room). If the group is to take notes in parallel to the work process or if the documentation is to be used for visual support in the process, this can be done, e.g., on a collaborative tool such as a DINA project pad which can be accessed live by the participants. Ideally, before starting a work session, one should determine who will log results and appoint a responsible person. The rest of the group can then get fully involved in the work. The moderator holds the room for the group and should make sure that everyone gets a chance to speak. Depending on the setting, you can also ask rather quiet participants to participate in the chat, if they do not want to speak in front of the large group. Remember to always emphasise that every viewpoint is valuable and should be heard!

Just what might a digital conference on DINA look like?

You have never participated in a digital conference on the DINA platform? If so, this chapter will give you a brief overview:

How do I start a digital event with DINA?

Creating a digital conference on DINA is really easy! The basic framework is ready in just a few minutes. If you want to learn everything from scratch, then start here. If you want to get started straight away:

What is a (digital) conference room?

You can imagine a digital room to be almost like an analogue one: something is happening in it and it can be equipped with different things (room type). In the context of DINA, it's digital events that may vary depending on the type of room. Each room has its own (web) page within your conference. We explain how to create rooms here:

What is your definition of events?

For us, events are always about what is happening in a room. In a workshop room this might be a video conference, in a café room a digital café table and in a stage room this might be a YouTube stream. The lobby room, on the other hand, simply lists the events from all the other rooms and turns them into an agenda. You can find out how to create events under the following link:

I have never organised a large event before, how can I activate and engage participants?

For this purpose, we have dedicated an entire chapter to many different formats and inspirations for you. Please check it out:

How do video conferences work in the digital conference centre?

DINA's digital conference centre uses BigBlueButton video technology. We have compiled a few of the most important functions for you in this chapter:

How do I present my event to the outside world?

Every digital conference on DINA has a so-called microsite. It is your space to be really creative and provide all relevant information about your event. Furthermore, interested parties can also register for the event via the microsite.

Do participants of a digital conference need to have an account with DINA?

Currently, participants of a digital conference on the DINA platform still need a user account. However, we are working on providing access to digital events without an account. An external user with a login and password will then be able to gain temporary access to a conference. As soon as this function is available, it will be displayed to the conference admin.

Conferences are a great opportunity to bring together loads of knowledge that is usually dispersed in different minds - and this opportunity needs to be seized! For fresh ideas, you can invite more external input providers who can expand or refresh your own knowledge. But it' s precisely the existing brainpower of the group which is a huge resource that can be unleashed with the right formats. When sharing knowledge, it is important to always keep the context of the participants in mind and to invite them to get involved again and again. Activating learning is more fun and leads to better results!

Complex issues require multiple perspectives: To this end, experts can be brought together to share their knowledge with each other and with the participants. But the UX Fishbowl also includes the voices of the participants and makes them active co-creators of this exchange format!

Room setup and group size

For this format, a BigBlueButton room is created in which several people can switch on their cameras as the situation requires. This format is therefore only feasible for groups of up to 40 participants - the UX fishbowl format is unsuitable for even larger groups anyway. If you want to hold an expert exchange in front of a larger audience, you can of course organise a "normal panel" in which invited experts hold a discussion which is streamed to the audience in another room. Technically, this is then implemented in the same way as the keynote, only with several "speakers" forming the panel.

Implementation

The UX fishbowl – based on the analogue Liberating Structures UX fishbowl - is a special type of fishbowl: it offers the participants an interactive chance of quickly and continuously getting involved in an expert discussion. In contrast to a classic fishbowl in which a chair is often left unoccupied in the analogue room which the participants can occupy spontaneously in order to join the discussion, here there is a switch between panel discussion and participant interaction. This change should be announced by a moderator at the beginning of the format as well as the moderator's freedom to interrupt monologue contributions.

The format may seem complicated at first glance, but with proper guidance - and this is very important - the panelists should be instructed beforehand that this is not a traditional panel - the format can facilitate a lively, authentic exchange. It helps to first visualise the inner circle (panelists) and the outer circle (participants/guests) and to present it as such at the beginning. The moderator always keeps track of time. Speaking time is structured alternately for the inner circle and for the outer circle. The speaking time becomes shorter and shorter as the discussion progresses.

The moderator will raise an introductory question (ideally agreed upon with the panelists) which the panelists will answer first: each panelist will formulate a first idea - the inner circle will talk, the others will listen. It is important for the individual speaking time to not exceed 2-3 minutes - monologues are particularly exhausting in the digital world!

Once each panelist has formulated an opening statement, the outer circle is activated: The moderator announces that everyone will now be brought together in small groups in so-called group rooms. People can be assigned to different rooms by simply using the drag-and-drop functionality. Important note: Inform the participants that they have to follow the invitation to the group room, the main room will remain silent for the moment. Ideally, the moderator takes the panel to a separate room so that they can talk to each other there without being disturbed. For the panelists this is of particular value because they can talk to each other in a protected space and no one from the outside will be listening.

Before starting the group sessions, the moderator should clarify that approx. 4-5 people (if necessary, adjust according to the size of the group, a maximum of 8 group rooms can be created) will be gathered in one room to exchange ideas without moderation. After the small group discussion, any questions/comments that arise should be shared with the panel. It may be helpful to identify a person in the small group to take these questions/comments to the main room afterwards. Ideally, provide a few guiding questions for the group exchange, such as: "In your small group, share what was just discussed in the panel: Which aspect was particularly exciting? Was anything surprising for you? What was new? What questions do you have that you would like to ask the panel right now? The guiding questions can also be adapted to the topic of the discussion.

The exchange in the small group should last at least 10, ideally 15 minutes. At the same time, the outer circle (the panel) will speak among themselves.

After these 10 or 15 minutes, all the small groups should come to an end and the plenary session begins: The moderator will ask the small groups to present questions/comments which will be followed by another inner circle discussion. The moderator will announce that the comments will first be collected and then, after a few contributions from the audience, the moderator will read them out in clusters before the inner circle starts the next round of exchange among the panelists.

Capturing the audience's views can be achieved by using the different methods of a Q&A session: Popcorn Style, Digital List of Speakers, Written Questions/Notes. To read up on these possibilities, please refer to the description of the Q&A in the keynote.

Then the moderator will summarise the questions/comments of the outer circle and will ask the inner circle to discuss the points of another discussion round among themselves. This will not be done in the classic question-and-answer style, the panelists will rather reflect aloud with each other on what has been said - again, be mindful of time (about 10 minutes is appropriate, or a little longer depending on the energy of the discussion). Subsequently, the outer circle will be activated again in group rooms.

Switching between inner and outer circle can occur as often as desired, depending on the length of the format. At the very least, the outer circle should have two opportunities for exchange among themselves and the possibility to enrich the discussion of the inner circle by means of the ideas in the capturing of voices.

Technical tips for the digital fishbowl

• Design of the inner circle/outer circle group rooms: In order for the panelists to be able to speak among themselves in a protected space during audience activation, they should be assigned to a separate room. Use the drag & drop functionality when creating the room to assign all participants to specific rooms. We recommend having a technical moderator do this while the moderator explains the group exchange. Alternatively, you can use the randomised function to reassign the panelists to their own group room. It is not advisable to use the main room for the undisturbed panel exchange, as the panelists will not be on their own there - after all, the moderator is still present and participants who join spontaneously may also turn up.

• Guiding questions for the activation of the outer circle: The best way is to briefly write the guiding questions in the chat of the main room into which the participants can continue to peek, even if they are in a group room.

• Activation of the outer circle: The outer circle is activated several times in small group discussions of about 4-5 people each. It is important to note that a maximum of 8 group rooms can be created. The groups are rearranged each time so you should always plan 1-2 minutes for each group round to allow the participants to introduce themselves briefly, before they enter into the discussion on the topic.

The World Café is a method to discuss a topic in alternating groups and thus come to new insights. In the analogue format, participants rotate around tables at set times; in the digital format, this can be simulated by "topic rooms" each equipped with a DINA project pad to record the discussion allowing the new group to reflect on what was previously discussed.

Room setup and group size

A "topic room" is created for each topic/aspect to be discussed (group room function) and named accordingly. In order to ensure that an equal number of participants ends up in the topic rooms, the maximum number of participants in the rooms should be limited - if a group is full, the person has to look for a new topic room. If a person sometimes stays in the same topic room, he or she will still talk to new group members there!

Implementation

First, consider which topics or aspects of a topic are to be discussed in order to determine what will be discussed in the respective topic rooms. You can install a moderator in each topic room, although an unmoderated discussion can also be exciting. In each topic room, the discussion should be documented on a DINA project pad - it is always best to find someone to take the minutes beforehand.

If the discussion is unmoderated, a person should be appointed at the beginning, in addition to a minute taker, to keep track of time, otherwise this is the moderator's task.

Each topic room should be given at least 15 minutes of discussion time, 20 minutes if the schedule allows for it. If each participant is to take part in each topic room, four topic rooms need to be created - in that case the format will last 60-80 minutes. Before the participants go into the topic rooms, they can be introduced briefly so that everyone is aware of which topics/aspects are up for discussion. In order to move the discussion forward - especially if it is to be unmoderated - you can think of a few guiding questions for each topic/aspect beforehand and write them on the prepared pad. The format begins with all participants moving from the main room to a topic room, discussing there, then being brought back to the main room and then moving back to a new topic room. At the end, a moderator can look at the documented results and draw a conclusion and/or write down next steps.

Terms used at the conference centre

Collective case consultation allows a question/problem (a "case") to be dealt with based on the knowledge of the group. Each individual gets the chance to ask for help in quick rounds of consultation and immediately receive advice from two others. Peer-to-peer coaching helps participants to identify solutions, insightful patterns and innovative approaches suitable for their daily lives. This is a simple and effective way to extend coaching support for individuals beyond formal communication channels.

Room setup and group size

For collective case consultation, at least three people should be brought together into a group room (groups of 4 also work, in any case there must be more than two people). If several cases need to be dealt with, the group should stay together for the role change. That is, each person in the group is the case provider at one point and the counsellor at another.

Implementation

One person describes the question/problem as the case provider, the others listen to the "case" and discuss it among themselves and give advice. At the end of the session, the case provider draws his/her conclusions and gives a short feedback to the counsellors. Then the roles are exchanged and the case provider becomes the counsellor, a previous counsellor becomes the case provider and so on. By assigning the roles of case provider and counsellor, it is possible to discuss several cases in turn and experience a change of perspective due to the role switch - at times you ask for counselling, at other times you advise others.

A case lasts about 25 minutes, the process follows a pattern of 4 steps:

1. The provider of the case presents the topic to the case counsellors. The counsellors mute their microphones, listen attentively and take notes, if necessary. 5 minutes

2. The case counsellors ask questions of understanding, answered by the case provider. 5 minutes

3. The case provider mutes the microphone. The case counsellors share their thoughts on the case. The case provider listens attentively and takes notes, if necessary. 10 minutes

4. The caseworker joins in again, summarising and giving feedback on what he/she has heard. 5 min

Especially in the digital space, it is important that we as humans keep reminding ourselves that we are human - and not little tiles on a screen. A short mindfulness exercise that ends with a group moment can do wonders for the energy level in the room and the feeling of connectedness even across physical boundaries. The embodiment exercise can be guided to start the day or break the ice in the course of the meeting - calm and gentle moderation is essential for the success of this exercise.

Room setup and group size

This format is best suited for a group that can switch on the videos - i.e., for a maximum of 40 participants. Everyone is in a workshop room with a video event. The mics should be turned off during the exercise, they can be turned on at the end for sharing in the group.

Implementation

Before starting the exercise, it is very important to extend a kind invitation to the participants. As the exercise is meditative in nature, it is important to explicitly address any inner resistance that may arise and to take the participants along into an exploration: using the word "small experiment" can arouse curiosity. It is also important to emphasise that this exercise does not require any previous experience. The participants should be reassured that the moderator will safely guide them through the exercise - even if there is a moment of silence in between. Those who feel uncomfortable can turn off their cameras. The participants can now focus completely on themselves and (let) themselves be surprised!

The exercise can be instructed as follows, individual adaptations are always possible. "Instructions" should be given in a calm voice and there should always be a few seconds of silence between the steps.

1. Please sit comfortably.

2. Breathe in and out deeply. (twice)

3. Feel how gravity is drawing your body, feet, pelvis, etc. towards the floor.

4. Now, turn your attention to your head. What are the thoughts that come up? (wait at least 15 seconds)

5. What are you feeling in your belly? Is there excitement, calm, tension, sadness, hope? (wait at least 15 seconds)

6. Breathe in and out deeply again and feel your whole body. (twice)

7. Bring your attention back into the room in silence and open your eyes.

8. Now become aware of where you are. What do you particularly like about your surroundings? What might distract you? (wait a few seconds)

9. Now direct your gaze at the screen and the videos of the others (turn the camera on again, if necessary). Look at them, at where the others are. Where would you like to be?

10. Stand up and stand in front of the camera. Extend your hands to the left and right. You will meet the hands of the others.

11. First squeeze the right hand, then the left. Now everyone is holding both sides. (You can pause here for a moment, or you can introduce a wave-like movement).

12. To conclude, everyone squeezes both sides again at the same time and is happy that we are spending the day together in this group (if you have permission to take a photo, you can take a screenshot to share later).

13. Everyone takes a seat again. Then ask participants to briefly share in plenary how they felt about the exercise. This can be done in a relaxed popcorn format: whoever feels an urge shares it with the group. If no one wants to share anything, that's fine too. Finally: Thank everyone for engaging in the journey!

Every good meeting starts with the people who are part of it and thus help shaping it. At the beginning, participants should be invited to get to know each other and to tell each other where they stand mentally or emotionally. This is the only way to develop a sense of the group and to lay a foundation for direct conversation, openly developing ideas and working out joint results. In Impromptu Networking, participants are thrown into randomised small groups to check in with each other in a trusting way.

Room setup and group size

For this format, you create a video room (e.g. an event in a workshop room) in which several people can switch on their videos, as the situation requires. The format is therefore only feasible for a group size of up to 40 participants - for even larger groups, the group would have to be divided up beforehand and sent into several simultaneous get-to-know-you rounds. When the group returns from the spontaneous exchange to the main room, this format can be repeated as desired and further exchange rounds can be added.

Implementation

In Impromptu Networking, participants may be brought together several times in a row in different group rooms to engage in spontaneous exchange. Participants can stay in the small groups for about 5 minutes - preferably in pairs. If the number of groups does not add up, three people can be brought together or someone from the organising team can join the format as a "joker".

Ideally, participants should be given a guiding question to facilitate the start of the conversation. Here are some examples:

• "Who are you and what has brought you here?" or

• "Who are you and what are you most looking forward to today?" or

• "Who are you and what can you/would you like to contribute today?"

The questions should always be easy and spontaneous to answer because it is more about getting into a good conversation than making progress on the content. If the group members already know each other and you want to use the format more for content-related networking, you can of course also formulate other questions such as: "What question would you hope to find an answer to today?" or "What central challenge do you want to address/solve today?"

The discussion can be timed, in order to ensure that speaking time is equally distributed within the small group: You could start by giving person 1 two minutes to speak first, followed by person 2 with two minutes followed by one minute of talking together. Before starting the breakout rooms, it is important to explain to the participants that they will be thrown into a small room without moderation and that it is their responsibility to engage in a joint conversation. Participants also have to organise the change of conversation themselves. Preferably, one person in the group sets a mobile phone timer on loud. You can always provide participants with the option to return to the main room, if there is a problem. However, this should only be done in case of emergency, everyone should participate in this format!

The only way to make human gatherings truly successful is to get to know each other. A trusting relationship is the basis of good cooperation, group spirit can move a great deal, even beyond an event. Before you get into the content at a meeting, you should give yourself some time for an informal yet structured getting to know each other. In the course of the meeting, ice breaking formats should remind you that the whole thing is also about having fun harnessing the energy of interpersonal interaction.

How do I create my first digital conference?

How do I create virtual rooms within a conference?

How do I create events in the virtual rooms?

How do I invite others to my conference?

What do I do to present myself to the outside world?

What functions does DINA's integrated video conference (BigBlueButton) offer?

The admin page can only be accessed by you as the administrator of a conference and contains all (technical) setting options. Initially, only the creator of a conference is an administrator, though other administrators can be appointed via the member administration. You can access the admin page by clicking on Edit conference in the conference view. Below is a brief overview of the different areas (tabs) of the admin page with links to further information.

Conference menu

In the conference menu you will find helpful links, some of which can also be found below the conference menu (see below). The most important links are those leading to the microsite and to the conference view (conference).

Settings

In the settings section, you can change basic options for the conference. These include, e.g., the name, the description and the picture/logo of the event. The microsite which is displayed to non-members or non-participants and from which interested parties can register via a form can also be designed from here. The background colour of the conference venue can also be customised.

Editing the participation conditions

The participation conditions include all additional information that interested parties are asked to provide when filling out the application form. At this point you can choose which information you need.

Managing conference rooms

The Manage conference rooms tab allows you to create new rooms, edit or delete rooms that have already been created and create new events in specific rooms.

Managing conference events

This area displays a list of events that have already been scheduled. You can edit an event by clicking on it. If you open the drop-down menu via the downward arrow, an event can also be deleted here. New events can be added via the tab "Manage conference rooms" or directly from the conference view.

Processing participation applications

Here, you will find all applications received from interested parties and can accept, reject or put them on a waiting list.

Members

From here you can invite participants, accept or reject registrations and appoint other administrators.

Reminder emails

Here you can set up reminder emails for your participants that will be sent automatically at certain times prior the event.

Conference deactivation

After deactivating the conference, it can no longer be found or edited by anyone on the DINA platform. However, you can reactivate it in your profile settings (My Profile --> Your deactivated content). This link will take you directly to the reactivation page.

Implementing multilingualism

In the current DINA.international version, you can make your content (i.e., room names, workshop descriptions) visible in several languages by entering the content in several languages consecutively in the same input field. An update is planned shortly which will also allow you to define which content (titles, descriptions) is displayed in which language version. As soon as this update is available, we will announce it on the platform and describe it here.

Leave conference

Basic structure

You can design the look of your digital conference yourself, but to give you an idea of how the conference centre is structured, we will provide you with an example here. You can freely determine the colours as well as the description texts, room and event names for your own event. The settings buttons shown in this example are only displayed to conference administrators.

1. Title and description of the conference

2. Rooms

   2.1 Active room

3. Go to settings page / Go to admin page

4. Description of the room

5. Events in the active room and further options

6. Chat window (linked to Rocket.Chat – all messages you exchange here, can also be found in your conversations via the DINA chat function)

Room with a video event

If you click on an event in a workshop, discussion or café room, BigBlueButton will open in this room. If other people with an activated camera are in this video conference, you can communicate in audio and video. For more information on using BigBlueButton, please click here.

1. Event name

2. BigBlueButton video conference

3. Open the video conference in a new browser tab

4. Zoom in the video view (rooms on the left side are hidden, can be reversed via the same button).

Open conference view

There are two ways of accessing the conference view:

• via the Admin page of the

• conference or via the DINA hamburger button

From the conference admin page, you can easily access the conference view via the conference menu and then via the "Conference" tab.

You can also use DINA's hamburger button to access the conference view at any time:

You want to create your first event via DINA? Then you are exactly in the right place! Even though we will be talking about conferences on the next pages, your event can of course also be an exchange, a group meeting, a convention, a lecture series or something else entirely.

In principle, the process is very similar to creating a group in DINA, so if you have done this before, you will recognise a few things here.

Creating a new conference

To start the creation process, click on the plus symbol in the top right of the DINA menu bar and then on the Create conference tile. You will now be taken directly to the configuration page where you can make all the basic settings for your event. In addition to the basic settings, you can also fill the microsite of the conference directly from here. However, you can also do this afterwards (as well as changing the conference settings).

General settings

Conference name

The conference name is obligatory and is visible to all participants within the conference and to others via the microsite. Think of a short, concise title that best describes your conference.

Conference starting and closing time

The starting and closing time of your conference is displayed on the microsite and is the basis for reminder emails, if you have created any.

Type of request for participation

Here, you can specify whether people interested in the conference have to fill out an application form which you can design prior to the conference. If you do not wish to have a separate application form, then do not select this field. You can also set up the conference so that every portal user can just walk into the conference. (As this can lead to unexpectedly large groups that might spontaneously participate in your conference, we recommend only doing this in certain cases).

Display in project or group calendars (optional)

If the conference belongs to a group on DINA or is relevant for certain groups or projects, you can indicate this here. The conference will then appear in the calendars of the corresponding groups and projects (e.g., you could display a conference for which you are still looking for many participants in a forum on DINA or if the target group has organised itself in a certain group or is to organise itself accordingly).

Description and info

The description of the conference is essential for external communication, as it is the first thing that interested people will see on the microsite. You should therefore design it with care and provide all the necessary information about your event. The description editor is based on the Markdown markup language which you will use very intuitively, once you got the hang of it. You can find information about it here.

Contact details (optional)

How can I contact the persons responsible for the conference? In this field, you can enter links as well as information such as address, telephone number, social media, etc. Please note: This information can be read by others. The Markdown syntax also works here, e.g., if you want to highlight something.

Conference colour (optional)

You can easily specify the primary colour of your conference in hex format. For example, you can find some colours in hex format on Wikipedia. Alternatively, you can simply search Google for "colour picker" and have your chosen colour converted.

Icon (optional)

The icon is a kind of logo for your conference and will be displayed to interested parties on the microsite and in the search.

Banner picture (optional)

The banner appears on the microsite above the group name. It is therefore best to choose a very wide format so that none of it is cut off (1140 x 240 pixels).

Website (optional)

Does your conference also have its own website or would you like to link to a website announcing your event? Then you can place a link to it here which will be displayed on the microsite.

Relevant topics and keywords (optional)

Here you indicate which social topics will be relevant during your event so people interested in certain topics can find the conference more easily in the search function and directly see what the event will be about. Keywords can narrow down the subject area even more precisely. Both are displayed on the microsite.

Place or address (optional)

If a specific location can be assigned to the conference (e.g., you are streaming from Berlin), it can be entered here and will appear on the microsite.

Related projects/groups (optional)

You may want to refer to fellow projects or groups that offer services on the same topic or to yours. These will then be displayed on the microsite.

Portal partners

The portal partner is the organisation on DINA your conference "largely" belongs to, e.g., if your conference is supported by a certain coordination office or is part of a bilateral context, you link it to this partner.

Visibility

Make your conference visible to the general public or only to certain groups of people.

Click on "Save" to create the event. If you wish, you can also create a microsite for the conference by scrolling up to the top of the form and clicking on the Microsite tab. However, you can also do this later! Next, you should create rooms for the conference.

If you think of the conference as a kind of building, then of course we need rooms in it where you can meet and hold events. Given that you will always be coordinating together anyway, maybe only one room is enough for very small meetings. However, especially if you want to run several events at the same time, it is useful to have (thematically) separate areas. There could, for instance, be rooms divided according to teams or groups, according to (work) topics or interests. In the following, we will explain how you can fill your conference building with rooms.

Adding new rooms

To add new rooms, you first need to go to the conference admin page. From here, click on the tab "Manage conference rooms". In the right-hand corner you will find the button "Create room" and a list of the rooms that have already been created. When you click on "Create room", the options menu for the new room opens. Some of the terms in it may be self-explanatory but we will nevertheless briefly show you below which settings can be made when creating a room.

Room settings

Room type

Every room in your conference is of a specific type. You could also say: it has a certain basic equipment. Each room type therefore offers different possibilities and advantages as shown in the following table:

Title

The title is the room name that is displayed to the participants during the conference. It can be descriptive, such as Café or Auditorium, or metaphorical, such as Feast Land or Indian tipi. There are no bounds to your imagination.

Sorting number

The sorting number of a room determines where the room is displayed to the participants from top to bottom. For example, if you want the rooms to be displayed in the following order: 1. info point, 2. plenary, 3. café, 4. list of participants, you have to number the rooms accordingly.

Description (optional)

The description of a room appears above the events taking place in the room. If the name of the room is self-explanatory, you can omit the description. However, it is useful, for example, to briefly introduce the individual events or to define the rules of the discussion in advance.

Room and chat visibility

Finally, you can specify whether the room should be displayed to the participants and whether the room-specific chat window should be available. Both settings can also be changed later after you have created and saved the room.

Once you have made all the settings, the room is created by clicking on the "Save" button. It is now available immediately on the conference page.

Editing rooms

There are two ways of editing existing rooms. The first is via the Admin page from where all conference settings can be adjusted. There, you click on the tab "Manage conference rooms" and select the desired room.

The second option is accessible directly from the conference view: administrators can open room editing directly from there, provided they are in that particular room, and can also create or edit new events for this room. In addition, the button "Edit rooms" can be found at the bottom left of the conference view which leads to the room management (see above). In room editing, all the settings described above, except for the room type, can be changed and are visible immediately after saving.

Deleting rooms

Deleting a room works in a similar way to editing it: From the Admin page, select the Manage conference rooms tab and open the drop-down menu of the room to be deleted. There you will find the button to delete.

If you are currently in the conference view, simply enter the room in question and select the "Delete room" button below the room description.

The results room, just like the participants room, is not actually a room at all. This is why you cannot create any events here. You can use the results room to link a (new) project on DINA with your conference so that all participants have access to it. Since it is displayed in the conference view like other rooms, participants can work collaboratively on documents, upload files to the cloud, create surveys or fill the project calendar directly from the conference venue. Here is a small example of what an integrated project might look like in the conference venue:

When creating an event room, you can select the option "Show chat". By doing so, the room will be connected to the chat software Rocket.Chat integrated in DINA through which you can also communicate with individual members of the DINA.international platform. The difference when using it within a conference is that all participants of the conference - if the chat function of a room is switched on - automatically join a room-specific group chat. This group chat is then displayed to them on the right in the corresponding room but can also be accessed via the normal message menu outside the conference (letter icon at the top right in the DINA menu bar).

Events are needed so that something can actually happen in an event room. Events can happen in different rooms but also in one and the same room in parallel. For example, there can be several virtual café tables in a café room or two workshops can take place simultaneously in a workshop room. You won't disturb each other through our virtual sound walls. We promise!

Events are usually connected with a video function. However, events cannot be created in every room type; after all, not too much happens on the list of participants and in the results project. Events can be created in the lobby but they are only used as gap fillers for the agenda and do not have a video function, e.g., if you want to schedule a general break.

Adding new events

There are two ways of creating a new event. If you are in the process of creating the conference, you are probably already on the Admin page. From here, navigate to the tab "Manage conference rooms". There, you will see the list of your created rooms on the right in the order of their numbering. Each entry can be expanded on the right by clicking on the arrow pointing downwards. In this drop-down menu, next to "Edit" and "Delete", you will find the option for creating a new event.

The second option is available from the conference view. If you are an admin in an event room, a button for adding new events is displayed below the room description. You can also edit and delete existing events from here. In the following, we briefly describe which settings can be made when adding new events. As with rooms, all settings can be changed later.

Event settings

Title

The title of an event should clearly reflect its content - at least when it comes to events in workshop rooms. In a café room, you can of course name the "tables" as you wish. For example, an event could be called a lecture by Dr Smith on the topic of German-Russian relations or a group discussion on digital democracy, etc. There are no limits to what you can do.

Setting an event as a break (optional)

You can also set the event as a break. In this case, it has no video function and only serves as a gap filler. In this case, it is useful to call it a (lunch/breakfast) break.

Date and time

This is where you assign a time to the event. The events are then sorted in the conference centre according to date and time and grouped by day in tabs. Events currently taking place are highlighted for the participants.

Description (optional)

The event description can briefly summarise the content of the event. This will then be displayed in the agenda and next to the event in the corresponding room. However, the room description is better suited for this purpose, as there is little space for longer texts in the event overview.

Presenters / Speakers / Moderators (optional)

Events often have one or more speakers or moderators. They may need extended rights in a video conference, e.g. to share their screen, manage participants, create breakout rooms or start surveys. Via the event options you can easily give participants of a meeting extended rights for the corresponding event. To do so, enter the name of the person(s) in the input field and select them from the drop-down list.

Uploading presentations (optional)

DINA offers a practical option for uploading a presentation prior to an event which is displayed to the participants in the video conference and can also be downloaded, if desired. PDF, images and Office files are accepted as formats. However, presentations can also be uploaded by presenters or administrators during an ongoing video conference.

Once you have filled in all the required fields, you can save the event. It will immediately be displayed in the conference view in the corresponding room.

Editing events

If you want to change one of the event settings at a later stage, e.g. the title, the time or the person(s) presenting, you can do this without any problems. There are two ways of doing this:

From the conference view, enter the room in which the event is taking place (or has taken place or will take place). In the right-hand corner of the event you will see a small pencil icon that can be used to open the editing page.

If you are on the admin page, first navigate to the tab "Manage conference events". All you need to do is click on the relevant event to open the editing page.

Deleting events

Deleting an event is similar to editing it:

From the conference view, you enter the room in which the event is taking place (or has taken place or will take place). In the right-hand corner of the event you will see a small rubbish bin icon that can be used to delete the event.

If you are on the Admin page, first navigate to the tab "Manage conference events". Here you only have to open the drop-down menu next to the event to be deleted in order to be able to see the button.

What would an event, meeting, gathering or conference be without an engaged community of interested people, participants, students or members? Preparing a virtual conference includes managing and adding participants whom we call members on our platform.

You can add registered users of the platform to a virtual conference on DINA as well as invite external participants with their email addresses. A simple form can also be activated on the conference microsite to allow interested people to register themselves.

First, however, we would like to give you an overview of the different roles at a virtual conference. Each role is associated with certain rights that provide it with different ways of interacting with the platform or within video conferences.

Roles

Inviting participants

If you wish to access the participant management, please first navigate from the Admin page to the "Members" tab.

There are several ways of inviting people to a meeting. We mainly distinguish between the following:

• Someone is already registered on the platform or

• wants to participate in a conference as an external participant.

In the latter case, it is possible on the one hand to have a DINA account created in the course of registration, or - we are still working on this - to assign only temporary access in the context of a conference.

Inviting platform users

Inviting people who are already active on DINA is particularly easy. If you are already in participant management, you will see the option "Invite registered users..." with a number in brackets. This number indicates how many platform users have already been invited and have not yet accepted their invitation. You can now simply type the beginning of a name into the input field and you will immediately receive suggestions. This allows you to gradually add users. Finally, you have to confirm your entry by clicking on the button "Invite users".

Inviting external users (with registration with DINA)

You can use the option "Invite non-registered users" to invite external participants who should create a DINA account directly when they accept the invitation. The number in brackets indicates how many external participants have already been invited and have not yet registered with DINA. Now click on the button "Invite people".

In the following view you can enter one or more email addresses in the corresponding field. Separate multiple addresses with a comma or use a separate line for each. If you wish, you can add a personal message to the invitation email. After you have confirmed with the button "Invite", all invited persons will receive an email with a link to register on DINA. After registering, they will be added directly to the conference as participants.

Invitation of external users (without DINA registration)

This option has not yet been implemented.

Managing membership applications

If an interested person has submitted a "membership application" or synonymously an application for admission via the conference microsite, they will appear under the tab "Member applications". They can be accepted or rejected by a conference administrator. Once a decision has been made, all persons will receive a notification via the bell at the top right of the DINA platform and - with the appropriate notification settings - also via email. Accepted participants can now enter the conference.

Managing current members

The tab "Current members" shows you all participants of the conference who have already been accepted. Next to the name on the left side you will find an email symbol on the right side which opens a (Rocket) chat with the person in question via the DINA platform. Next to the email icon you will see the role which can be either Admin or Member.

If you open the drop-down menu of a person, you have three options:

• Report offensive content: If someone has behaved against the DINA rules, you can report him/her to us. We will then take appropriate action.

• Change role: Use "As Member" or "As Admin" to change the person's role to member or admin of the conference.

• Remove: Removes the person from the conference. They will no longer be able to participate until they submit a new application for membership.

For larger events where you do not know all the participants or you need certain information from the participants, we recommend that you enable the application form in the conference settings. Those interested have to fill in this form as soon as they register for the conference via the microsite. As soon as you have activated the application form and saved the settings, two new tabs will appear on the admin page:

• Edit participation conditions

• Edit participation applications (manage)

Editing the participation conditions

The tab Edit participation conditions hides the settings for the design of the application form which interested conference participants have to fill in when registering.

Registration deadline

If you enter a time period here, those interested can only register for the conference within this period. You can return to the settings at any time and shorten or extend this period.

Maximum number of participants (optional)

You can specify the maximum number of participants for guidance purposes. This will then be displayed on the microsite next to the number of participants already accepted.

Motivational text for applicants (optional)

You can request a motivational text from the applicants. The text field can be used, e.g., to phrase questions for the applicants to answer.

Options for participation (optional)

Here, additional options can be offered for selection to those interested. This option is particularly useful for conferences that also take place in a presence setting. Details such as the request for vegetarian food or the need for overnight accommodation can be entered here.

Workshop selection (optional)

If you tick the checkbox for workshop selection, participants will be shown a list of all events already created in workshop rooms. They can then select all the ones they are interested in. This option is only relevant for organisers to better plan the group size of each workshop.

Participation conditions

Finally, you can set participation conditions all participants have to agree to before they can submit their application.

Processing applications for participation

All applications submitted by those interested are listed under the tab "Process applications for participation". Here you have access to the individual details of the applicants and can accept or reject the applications or put them on the waiting list. However, the decisions can be reversed at any time so you don't have to worry about excluding someone for good.

Assigning workshops

In the future, it shall be possible to assign participants to specific events in workshop or discussion rooms. However, this function has not yet been implemented and the assignments do not (yet) show any effect.

The microsite is the external representation of your conference and can be accessed by anyone with a link to the conference - it is, as it were, your big digital signboard. It should therefore have an informative character and generate interest in the conference/event. In addition, interested people can register for the conference via the microsite which is also part of your participant management.

Editing the microsite

The settings for the microsite are part of the general conference settings. You may have already designed the microsite when you created the conference, however, you can also edit it anytime afterwards. You can edit the microsite via the Admin page by clicking on the Settings tab.

You probably know the feeling: You have registered for a cool event weeks ago and then you realise: “Damn, I missed it!” To prevent this from happening to your participants and to increase the attendance rate, DINA allows you to formulate automatic reminder emails. You can prewrite up to 3 reminder emails that are sent to participants a week, a day or an hour before the event. You can find the settings for this under the tab Reminder emails in the admin area.

So-called moderators have special rights in BigBlueButton that distinguish them from the normal participants. With these options they can manage the video conference as well as the participants.

There are three ways to become/be a BBB moderator in the digital conference centre:

• All administrators of a meeting are automatically moderators in all videoconferences.

• Admins can appoint individual participants as moderators of the specific event when creating events.

• During an ongoing videoconference, moderators can appoint other participants as moderators (this only applies to that ongoing videoconference).

In the following, we will briefly explain which (setting) options moderators have in an ongoing videoconference.

Managing participants

In principle, there are two ways of managing participants, the first relating to a specific person and the second having an impact on all participants of the video conference.

First option: Click on a participant in the list of participants.

A menu opens in which you can:

1. Start a private chat,

2. Make the participant the presenter (participant is allowed to share the screen). 3,

3. Promote the participant to moderator (participant obtains the same rights as the moderator),

4. Remove the participant from the video conference.

Second option: Open the cogwheel menu next to the participant list.

Here, you can do the following:

1. Reset the status icons of all participants and moderators

2. Mute all participants

3. Mute all participants except the presenter

4. Download all participants' names as a text file (.txt) (sorted by both first and last name)

5. Restrict the rights of the participants (see below, does not apply to moderators).

Managing a video conference

The 3-point menu in the top right-hand corner can be used to make general settings for the video conference and to end the conference (this has no lasting effect with DINA, however, as it is restarted as soon as someone wants to join).

In the global settings of the BigBlueButton conference you will find features that facilitate moderation and interaction. We recommend that for larger groups or Q&A sessions, at least the pop-up notifications are switched on for new messages in the chat and when participants join. This helps keep track of what is going on and helps with the supervision of the group.

In the Data saving mode tab it is also possible to deactivate webcams and screen sharing for the entire conference. Normally, these settings should remain untouched, however, they may be useful in case of connection difficulties.

Presenter / screen sharing rights

BigBlueButton distinguishes between normal participants and moderators as well as the presenters. Only one person can present at a time. Whoever currently has the right is indicated by a small blue projector symbol in the picture of the person in the participant list. Moderators can assign themselves the presenter right by clicking on the plus symbol in the video window. They can also assign this right to normal participants by selecting the name of the corresponding person in the participant list.

The presenter is allowed to share their screen and to create and analyse surveys.

DINA's digital conference centre uses the open source programme BigBlueButton as an integrated video conferencing solution which is also frequently used in school and university contexts. The advantage of open source lies particularly in its (data) security as the programme code can be openly viewed and optimised by international IT experts. There is already a variety of manuals on the Internet for BigBlueButton describing its functions in detail. Nevertheless, we would like to highlight some features on the following pages that deserve special attention.

1. Event name

2. BigBlueButton video conference

3. Open video conference in new tab

4. Zoom video view (hides the rest of the conference view and enlarges the video window. Can be reversed by pressing the same button.)

A video conference depends on the interaction of all participants. Just as in a face-to-face meeting, it is therefore important that there are opportunities for expression and communication. BigBlueButton offers a number of tools that, if used correctly, can contribute to an interactive exchange.

Chat

There are two types of chat in BigBlueButton, the public chat and the private chat.

The public chat is available at the beginning of the video conference and can be seen and used by all participants. It is particularly useful for asking general questions or sending information to all participants.

The private chat opens only after clicking on a participant in the participant list and selecting the option Start private chat. The private chats can only be read by the two parties involved and are particularly suitable for quick consultations, e.g., between moderators.

Status Symbols

Status symbols can be used to express different emotions non-verbally or to communicate with the other persons in the video conference. The status is changed by clicking on one's own name in the Participant tab and then on Set status. The picture is then replaced by the corresponding status visible to everyone.

Shared notes

Just like the public chat, the shared notes can be seen and edited by all participants. The difference being that the contributions cannot be assigned to specific persons and that a simple HTML editor is available. This makes it easier to organise the notes and change their style. The shared notes are well suited for joint minutes or for capturing thoughts and ideas.

Surveys

For simple polls or quizzes, BigBlueButton provides a poll function. However, only one (single-choice) question can be asked at a time. There are already some pre-defined polls to choose from, but a user-defined poll with up to 5 self-selected answers can also be created. After publishing, the survey ends and all participants can view the results.

Sometimes it is useful to send participants to separate video conferences for smaller team tasks, get-to-know-you sessions or interactive formats. In many of the current conferencing solutions, these separate video rooms are called breakout rooms. One possible approach would be to set up a café room with several virtual tables and ask the participants to spread out among them. However, the disadvantage of this is that the participants would have to leave the ongoing video conference and distribute themselves among the tables on their own (a great option for the break, though). However, BigBlueButton already offers a built-in breakout function which it refers to as group rooms. It allows both random and self-selected grouping of participants. Admins and presenters can set up these group rooms during an ongoing video conference with just a few clicks.

Creating group rooms

To create a breakout room, you may first have to maximise the video conference by clicking on the arrow cross in the top right corner for all options to be displayed. Next to the participant overview, open the cogwheel menu and select "Create group rooms".

In the following view, you can select the number of rooms (up to 8), the duration until the rooms are automatically closed, randomly assign participants to rooms or allow them to choose a room later. You can also drag and drop (click, hold and move) participants between the rooms. Clicking on "Create" opens the rooms, "Close" cancels the process.

Joining group rooms

After creating the group rooms, all participants receive a message that they can join a room. Depending on the setting, they may or may not have a choice at this point. However, no one is forced to join a room; the message can be ignored by clicking the "Close" button.

But even after closing the first call, participants can still join the rooms afterwards via the side menu. Admins or presenters can join all rooms at any time, even if they have been assigned to a specific room.

As soon as a participant clicks on "Join room", a new browser window opens with a BigBlueButton video conference. The main conference remains open in the original window, although it is muted.

Working in group rooms

Most of the normal BigBlueButton functions can be used in group rooms. The biggest difference, however, is that each person present can make themselves the presenter and thus share their screen. This is very practical as there is no need for an admin to always be in each group room.

Leaving group rooms

Participants can decide to leave a group room at any time. All they have to do is close the corresponding browser window.

Close breakout/group rooms

As a general rule, breakout rooms end automatically after the set time. However, moderators can force the rooms to close by pressing the button "End all group rooms" in the Group rooms tab.

Additional info

Video recording and saving conference contents

In order to record events from your meeting, you need an event with a BBB room. Please note that recording is only available for "Premium Conferences". You can find out more about premium conferences and how to upgrade your conference here.

Maybe you have already noticed the information message box about agreeing to a recording at your premium conferences?

In the event settings you will find the section "BBB Video Conference Options". This is also where you will find the setting to enable the recording feature. Currently, our default setting is "Allow recording", but you can freely allow or disallow recording.

To start recording during a conference, simply press the upper button "start recording" within your BBB frame.

You can see that a recording is currently running by the red recording icon and the time display next to it. You can pause your recording by pressing the red recording symbol again and continue it at a later time. This makes it easy to cut out program points, such as breaks, in advance.

The recordings save themselves. However, there are two criteria for this: Either all participants have left the conference or you have ended the conference via the three-point menu and "End conference" menu point. Saving can take a few minutes, so you won't necessarily be able to find your recording immediately after ending the conference.

But where can you find your saved recordings in the first place? - You have to navigate to your conference settings in the left navigation bar of your conference under "Edit conference".

There you will find the tab "Recorded Meetings", where you can manage your saved recordings. Here you can delete your recordings or click on the name of the recording to view the playback, i.e. your recording.

In the playback you can click through the recording, adjust the playback speed, view the past chat and the shared notes.

Saving the chat and notes separately

BigBlueButton allows you to save both the public chat and the shared notes. In the public chat, this is done via the 3-point menu in the upper right corner of the chat window.

The shared notes, on the other hand, can be downloaded in various formats (e.g. PDF, Word, ODF, HTML) via the download icon.

Saving the list of participants

The (present) participants can also be downloaded in a text file. This is easily done via the cogwheel menu next to the list of participants.

DINA is intended to promote international youth exchange and is therefore designed for use in several languages. It is not only the platform itself that supports multiple languages but also the built-in video conferencing solution BigBlueButton (BBB). Although the technology is not yet advanced enough to enable automatic interpretation of spoken language, you can easily work with your own interpreters. In the following section you will learn how this feature works and how to activate it.

Important note before you get started: For an interpreted conference, it seems important to us to point out that such a conference on DINA.international (as in real life) requires special preparations: Especially with regard to the interpreters, we recommend checking and getting to know the functions and software interface beforehand in order to avoid disruptions. Also, you can expect more frustration if participants cannot hear the sound or something does not work because the wrong browsers are in use or they have not tried out how to use the system...

• It is strongly recommended that the interpreters wear a headset to avoid feedback (it is not really possible without one).

• It is strongly recommended that the internet connection (preferably via cable and without WLAN) is powerful (at least 10 Mbit, better 20 Mbit - this has to be tested beforehand). Access via WLAN can work - but is susceptible to interference, e.g. from neighbours watching films).

• We strongly recommend using a powerful computer with at least 4 GB, preferably 8 GB RAM memory.

• The interpreters should have checked out the conference setting on DINA and tested the functions.

• Interpreters often wish to have eye contact with their colleagues. This can be provided by a (hidden, separate) video room which is muted on both sides Alternatively, this channel can of course also be used on other messenger services and video channels.

Principle of the interpreting function

Interpreting on BBB works a s follows:

• A moderator (or the interpreters themselves) sets the languages spoken (or interpreted).

• Each moderator can theoretically interpret in DINA. All that is needed is to select the target language into which the interpretation should be provided.

• Participants can choose which language they want to listen to. They may also choose the original sound without interpretation (when a language is selected, the interpreted sound or the original sound in the selected language is heard).

• When an interpreter speaks, the original sound is turned down.

Activating interpretation

Moderators can add all spoken languages to the video conference via the Languages tab. If only one language needs to be interpreted (e.g. because half of the group speaks both languages), then this is also sufficient. Once this has been done, simply click on the button "Start interpretation" and everything is set.

For interpreters: Which language am I hearing?

In order to act as an interpreter, the person in question needs moderator rights in the BBB video conference. These can be assigned when creating an event or during the ongoing meeting.

In the options bar below the videos, all moderators as well as the participants see the button "available languages". Here you can select which language you want to listen to. If Original is selected, the original sound is played with all languages. The languages are only available for selection after interpretation has been activated; the buttons are also visible when the function is deactivated.

For interpreters: Which language do you want to interpret into?

Now the interpreters must select the language they want to interpret into, i.e., the language they will speak themselves. This is done via the button "Interpret language" on the far right. If the language listened to has already been selected, it is no longer available in this menu, or vice versa.

Interpreters: Speaking

Interpreters have their own microphone button which they only use when they are interpreting. This button is purple, just like the "Interpret language" button. When this microphone is activated, only the participants who have selected the corresponding language will hear the interpreter's voice. The normal microphone can be used to be heard by everyone in the plenary and should otherwise always be muted (mute = crossed out). The interpreter's microphone should also be muted when not in use.

Listeners

For listeners it is very easy: they only have to select the language they would like to listen to. This can be done via the blue globe button. The same applies to moderators.

The plugNmeet is an easy-to-integrate and highly customizable open-source video conference software. The user is classified as a moderator and an attendee. The main difference between the different roles is the capabilities of the meeting rooms. Generally, the moderator has more control over the meeting than the attendees. Additionally, it offers a premium feature of AI-translated subtitles, which enhances the conference experience by allowing people from different countries to speak in their own language while still being able to communicate effectively.

Main Features​

1. Audio call

2. HD video call with virtual background & Screen Sharing

3. Whiteboard

4. Online Notepad

5. MP4/Webm Recording

6. Raise Hand

7. Co-playing Video

8. Breakout Room

9. Public/Private Chat

10. Waiting Room

11. Poll

12. Various user's lock settings

13. External content sharing(iframe)

14. Live Steaming via RTMP & RTMP ingress

15. Live speech to text/translation

Start Streaming

1. To make a live broadcast from Plugnmeet to Facebook, Youtube or another similar, what you need to do is go to the bottom center and select the three-dot icon and choose "Start RTMP broadcasting".

1. Then, in the box that will appear, you can choose the provider of your preference and you will have to enter the Stream Key to start the transmission.

2. Ready! Now you'll be able to stream everything you'll do in Plugnmeet, from your webcam to the shared whiteboard.

3. Finalize transmission You will press on the three-dot icon and select "Stop RTMP broadcasting".

1. Entering the room​

When we enter the room, two options will appear: "Microphone" and "Listen only". If we press on "Microphone", it means that we want to actively participate by audio in the meeting.

Whereas, if we select "Listen only", you can only hear what the other participants say, but you will not be able to participate by audio.

1. Microphone

   • After having selected the "Microphone" option, it will tell you through a box to select the microphone you want to use. It is here, where you can select the source of your microphone, either the microphone of the device you use or the headphones you have connected.

   • Finally, you click "Join" and you will be able to talk in the meeting.

2. Listen only

   If you click on the "listen only" option, immediately afterwards it will direct you to the meeting so that you can only listen to the interventions of the other participants.

   Important: The option you choose at the start of the meeting, either "Microphone" or "listen only", does not mean that it will be final for the entire meeting. Since, then you can change the settings again during the meeting.

2. Audio​

1. Turn Microphone on or off

   Being inside the meeting, we can choose whether to activate or deactivate the microphone. How you can do this will depend on how you entered the room.

   1. If "Microphone" was chosen at the time of entering the Room

      • What you will have to do is go to the bottom left, find the microphone icon.

      • Then, you can mute/unmute the microphone by click the Microphone icon.

      • And in case you want to do more settings on your microphone, you can click that small down arrow icon to see more options.

   2. If "listen only" was chosen at the time of entering the Room

      • What you will have to do is go to the lower left part, locate the microphone icon, and click on it.

      • A box will immediately appear in which you will need to select the microphone of your preference. Finally, you will need to click on "Join".

      • At that point your microphone will be activated.

      • Then you can mute/unmute the microphone by click the Microphone icon or click that down arrow icon to see more options.

2. Select the microphone of preference

   While by the time you entered the meeting, you may have already set up the microphone of preference, you can do it again while the meeting is being held. For that, you need to go to the microphone icon and then select within the first options of the drop-down list, the microphone you prefer to use.

   This way of choosing the microphone can be used if the microphone has already been activated.

3. Video​

When the meeting is taking place, you can choose to turn on the webcam.

1. Activate webcam

   • To do this you need to go to the bottom left and press on the camera icon.

   • After that, you will be asked “ plugNmeet requires you to give it access permission to your camera ”, in which you will have to select "Allow".

   • Immediately afterwards, it will be able to display you on your screen.

   • Below your video image, you will see some options, these are virtual background options. You can choose a virtual background options if you want.

   • Finally, you click on "Share".

This is how you will have already activated your webcam.

1. Turn off webcam

   • In case you no longer want to share your webcam, what you will have to do is go to the camera icon.

   • Just click the camera icon once

   • Your webcam will no longer be shared immediately.

   4. Share Screen​

   1. To share, you will have to go to the bottom center and select the icon of a laptop with an arrow.

   2. Then, a box will appear where you can select which window, browser tab or screen you want to share.

   3. You click on “Share”.

   4. Screen sharing will now be taking place.

   5. Later, in case you want to stop sharing the screen, you must go again to the icon of a laptop with an arrow.

   5. Whiteboard​

   In the meeting it is possible to use a shared whiteboard among all participants.

   1. Activate whiteboard

      To activate the whiteboard, you have to go to the bottom center and click on the whiteboard icon. And the whiteboard will have already been activated.

   2. Use whiteboard

      Inside the whiteboard, several tools will appear to use.

      • Zoom or zoom out: Its location is in the lower left, where with the symbol "+" you can zoom, while if you select "-" it will move away.

      • Undo or Redo: Its location is in the lower left. If the arrow is on the left, it means that you want to undo the last change made; on the other hand, if the arrow is to the right, it means that you want to redo the last change you had discarded.

      • Shapes: Its location is in the upper central part. The shape that is selected is the one that can be drawn on the board and customized depending on the size and color you want.

      • Pencil: Its location is in the upper central part. With the icon of a pencil. It will allow you to write freely, with the color you want.

      • Text: Its location is in the upper central part. With the "A" icon. It will allow you to write text, with the color, size, and font you want.

      • Upload Multi-Files:In the meeting you can upload different files (PDF, Word, Excel, or Power Point) on the board. These files can be quickly switched between them.

      • Images: Its location is in the upper right. Allows you to attach images to display on the board. You will only have to click on the "Clip" icon and select the image you want to appear on the whiteboard and then be able to zoom in and out.

      • Delete: Your location is at the top left. With the icon of a bin. Pressing will cause everything that was done on the whiteboard to be erased.

      • Export: Its location is in the upper left. With the icon of an image with an arrow to the right. When clicked, it will lead to a window in which you can choose the type of format in which you want to export the content of the whiteboard (PNG or SVG), as well as the scale (1x, 2x 3x) and whether you want to place a white or transparent background. To finally export it, the final step should be to choose the format to export, which will lead to a window in which one must select the location of where you want the file to be exported.

   3. Hide whiteboard

      In case you no longer want to use the whiteboard, what you will have to do is go to the bottom center and click on the whiteboard icon. And if there are still traces on the board, they will not be eliminated, but can continue to be used in the same place that was left when the board is reactivated.

   6. Share Notepad​

   1. Activate notepad To activate the notepad, you have to go to the bottom center and click on the three dots icon and select "activate shared notepad".

   2. Use notepad Within the notepad, several tools will appear to use. In the upper left you can see the options to put the text in bold, italic, underlined and strikethrough. In addition, you can enumerate, list the text, modify the alignment of the text and make use of undo or redo. Also, in the central part, where you can see a blank sheet, is where you can write the text. Finally, to export the document or import an existing one, you have to go to the top right and click on the arrow icon to choose the option you want.

   3. Hide notepad In case you no longer want to use the notepad, what you will have to do is go to the bottom center and click on the icon of a sheet to write. And if there is still text in the notepad, it will not be deleted, but can continue to be used when the notepad is reactivated.

   7. RTMP​

   1. Start Streaming

      2. Then, in the box that will appear, you can choose the provider of your preference and you will have to enter the Stream Key to start the transmission.

      3. Ready! Now you'll be able to stream everything you'll do in Plugnmeet, from your webcam to the shared whiteboard.

   2. Finalize transmission You will press on the three-dot icon and select "Stop RTMP broadcasting".

8. Raise your hand

1. To raise your hand, you will have to go to the bottom center and select the hand icon.

2. Then, it will notify you that you have raised your hand.

3. Then, if you no longer want to have your hand raised, you must go back to the hand icon and press to lower the hand.

9. Share videos​

To present videos to all participants and be able to watch them at the same time, you must do the following:

1. Go to the bottom center and click on "...".

2. Then, select the "Start external Media Player" option.

3. Next, a dialog box will appear in which you can insert the URL of the video you want to share. The video can be one from Youtube,Vimeo or any other direct video url link.

4. You click "Play".

5. The video will automatically appear in the center of the room.

6. Now you can play or stop the video whenever you want.

If you no longer want to continue sharing the video, you must do the following:

1. Go to the bottom center and click on "...".

2. Then, select the "Stop external Media Player" option.

3. A box will appear, and you will have to click "Ok".

That way you will stop sharing the video.

You also can share video via external video file.

To play a video that is in a file on your computer, you must do the following:

1. Click on "...".

2. Select "Start external Media Player".

3. Click on "Upload".

4. Select the file to play. Can be in mp4, mp3 or webm format.

5. Click on "Upload and play".

This way you can play the video for all meeting participants.

10. Breakout room

The meeting can be divided into groups, which are rooms with the same functionalities. To do this you must do the following:

1. Go to the bottom center and click on "...".

2. Select the "Manage breakout room" option.

3. A dialog box will open in which you can select:

4. The number of groups

5. Duration of the group session in minutes

6. Welcome message when they enter your group

7. Which participant will go in each group or if you prefer a random distribution, you can click on "Random selection”.

8. Finally, you will click on "Start breakout rooms".

The breakout rooms will start and while they are in progress, you can also perform additional actions:

1. To do this, you will have to go back to the bottom center and click on "..." and choosethe option "Manage breakout room".

2. A dialog box will open in which you can select:

3. A message for all groups with "Broadcast message".

4. Extend the duration of time in breakout rooms.

5. Join one of the groups by clicking "Join"

6. End all breakout rooms with the "End all rooms" button.

11. Public Chat​

1. To be able to view the chat, you must go to the bottom center and select the icon of a message.

2. Then, you will be able to see that you can write messages in the chat.

3. In addition, you can send files. To do this, within the chat, you will see a clip icon. You press on it.

4. Then, you select the file, and you will see that in the chat the link of your file will appear so that the other participants can download it.

12. Private Chat​

During the meeting you can send private messages to the users who are present in the video call:

1. To do this you first have to make sure you can view the list of participants.

2. Then identify the user to whom you will want to write a private message.

3. You will see that on the side of his name there is a symbol of "...". You'll have to click in those three points.

4. Then you will select the option "Send private message".

5. Next, the chat will be set up so that you only talk to the user you wanted to send a private message to.

6. In the chat the name of the user will appear, and the chat will already be enabled to be able to send a private message. If you no longer want to send private messages, you can change it to public chat:

7. You'll have to go to the chat and tap on the username.

8. A drop-down list will appear, and you will select "Public chat".

9. That way you can return to the public chat.

13. Waiting Room​

To be able to manage who can enter the meeting, you can use the waiting room.

To configure it, you must do the following:

1. Click the "..." which is located at the bottom center of the room.

2. Then select the "Manage waiting room" option.

3. Then, a dialog box will open in which you can make all the configurations for the waiting room.

4. In the first part of the configuration, you can edit what the waiting message will be while users are in the waiting room. To be able to modify it you will have to click on "Update".

5. Then, under the waiting room message, there are the options to accept everyone as reject all users who are on hold.

6. Finally, in the final part of the dialog box you can accept, reject, or block users who want to enter the room.

7. That way you can configure the waiting room.

Likewise, it is also possible to accept or reject the entry of a participant from the list of participants with the options "Approve" or "Reject" that will be seen on the right side of the user's name.

14. Poll​

To know the opinions of the participants within the meeting, there is the option to make polls.

To configure it, you must do the following:

1. First you will have to visualize the list of participants.

2. Then, next to the "Participants" tab, you will be able to see another tab that says "Polls". You have to click on "Polls".

3. After you have selected in the tab, you will have to click on the "Create new Poll" button, which is located at the bottom left.

4. A dialog box will then open where you can edit which questions and answer options you want.

5. After you have selected your question and answer options, you will click on "Create poll".

That way other users will be notified that a poll was created and will have to vote.

Once the participants finish voting, you can finish the poll and publish the results:

1. You will go to the "Polls" tab.

2. You will identify the survey you created and select "View details".

3. Then, you will click on "End poll" to be able to finish the survey.

4. Next, a button will be displayed that will say "Publish result", and if you select it, the results will be shared in the public chat, otherwise they will not appear in the chat.

15. Room lock features​

In the new box, you can turn the following on or off:

• Lock microphone: If you turn it on, participants will not be able to use their microphone.

• Lock Webcams: If you turn it on, participants won't be able to use their webcam.

• Lock screen sharing: If you turn it on, participants won't be able to share their screen.

• **Lock chat:**If you turn it on, participants will have access to the chat.

• Lock send message: If you turn it on, participants won't be able to send messages to chat.

• Lock chat file share: If you turn it on, no participant will be able to send attachments in the chat.

16. Mute all users​

17. See list of participants​

1. To see the list of participants, what must be done is to go to the bottom center, select the icon on which two people appear.

2. In case you no longer want to see, you press again on the same icon.

18. Record the meeting​

1. To record the meeting, what needs to be done is to go to the bottom center, select the REC icon.

2. Then, it will be notified that you are already recording, and the REC icon will have a circle that shrinks and increases around it.

3. Finally, if you no longer want to record, you will press on the same REC icon.

19.External content sharing (iframe)​

To share external internet content, you must do the following:

1. Click on "...".

2. Select "Display external link".

3. Insert the URL of the external content you want to present.

4. Select if you want extra values:

• Name: User’s full name

• User Id: User’s unique Id

• User role: User’s current role. Either admin or participant

• Meeting Id: Meeting’s origin ID

1. Click on “Display”

In this way, each member of the meeting will be able to access the external content. In case you want to finish sharing, you must do the following:

1. Click on "...".

2. Select "Stop display external link".

** This feature only support the url/website you shared which allow the iframe feature. otherwise, it won´t work.

20. Access general settings​

Three sections will appear here:

1. Application settings: Here you can choose the preferred language.

2. Data saving: It can be activated if you want to show webcams or screen sharing in the meeting.

3. Notifications: You can choose whether to allow an audio notification.

21. Logout the meeting​

1. To be able to leave the meeting without the other participants disconnecting and staying in the meeting, you have to go to the top right, select the icon of the three vertical dots, and then choose “Log out”.

2. A confirmation box will then appear to make sure you want to leave the meeting.

22. Software Version​

If you want to know which version of the software you are using now, you can go to the top left, select the icon of three vertical dots, and then choose "Settings". From the pop up window, at the bottom area, you will see the current version of the software.

This information is useful when you want to report a problem about the software.

23. End the meeting​

1. To be able to end the meeting, what must be done is to go to the top right, select the icon of three vertical dots, and then choose "End".

2. A confirmation box will then appear to ensure that you want to end the meeting, because when the action is performed, all participants will be disconnected.

DINA.international provides sufficient server resources for your meetings/video conferences in international youth and school exchanges which can be booked easily with a form. This applies until the booking machine, a tool with which the form is integrated in your admin view of the conference on DINA.international, is published.

When creating and testing the DINA.international functions, your conference will be in test mode, i.e., you and a small team will test all the tools of the platform without restriction. As soon as the period for your conference has been defined, you must book your conference resources at least one week before your conference begins. Only then can we provide the required capacities for larger groups.

The portal partners will check in the background to what extent funding might be available for the requested conferences. Should this change for any reason, we will inform all DINA.international users in good time.

Background: The video technology integrated at https:/ DINA.international requires server capacities which must be scaled by the portal operators depending on the number of participants and duration.

Unlike commercial providers who seem to offer this service "free of charge", DINA does not use any of the users' data commercially (e.g., for advertising or the like).

At international conferences what matters is not only good moderation but also that it is understood in the different languages. For this purpose, DINA offers an interpreting function which of course must be attended by interpreters. Below are a few helpful tips on how to prepare the interpreters:

• Dial in with a PC or laptop that is as powerful as possible (we recommend at least 4, preferably 8 GB RAM).

• Use a stable internet connection with at least 20 Mbit (if possible, use the LAN connection via cable instead of WLAN).

• We recommend that you use the latest versions of Firefox or Chrome. At present, the interpreting booth cannot be used with Safari.

• Use a high-quality headset.

• Before the conference, run a test with all interpreters to get to know the setting on DINA and to rehearse for emergencies.

• If necessary, open a side room next to the main room where you are translating where you turn on your cameras but keep the microphones off so that you can see your colleagues and give each other tips.

• Please make sure to keep your microphone muted throughout the conference to avoid background noise. Please only unmute your microphone when you are speaking.

Start Streaming

1. To make a live broadcast from Plugnmeet to Facebook, Youtube or another similar, what you need to do is go to the bottom center and select the three-dot icon and choose "Start RTMP broadcasting".

1. Then, in the box that will appear, you can choose the provider of your preference and you will have to enter the Stream Key to start the transmission.

2. Ready! Now you'll be able to stream everything you'll do in Plugnmeet, from your webcam to the shared whiteboard.

3. Finalize transmission You will press on the three-dot icon and select "Stop RTMP broadcasting".

DINA now offers you the possibility to mark yourself as a trainer, interpreter or exchange guide. Marked as such, other users can easily find you to contact you. You can showcase your skills and possibly be recruited for the next event on DINA.

My profile

The values you have entered can also be found in your profile in the column "About me" under the heading "Workshop and seminar offers".

Provide yourself as a trainer

To register yourself as a trainer, interpreter, or exchange guide, you will need to make changes to your profile via Edit My Profile.

In your profile settings you will now find the section "Workshop and seminar offers". Here you can check the type of trainer you want to be listed in the trainer search. For example, after you have checked the "Trainer" box, the settings for the various contents that you can offer as a trainer will expand automatically.

Most of the content you choose from a list of pre-set values, but the areas "Regional expertise / countries in which I have experience" and "Is there any other information that is not covered by the choices?" are multilingual free text fields where you can freely tell about yourself and mention qualities not covered before.

Search feature

To find trainers, interpreters and guides you have to navigate to the DINA map, click on the search bar "Search for Names, Topics and Places..." and then press the blue link "Search for trainers, exchange guides, interpreters" of the trainer search.

Alternatively, you can share the search form page directly via this link or go from the DINA landing page to the menu item "Trainer search".

After that, the "Hub" opens to search within the trainer search. This is the first instance where you can choose what kind of support you are looking for.

In the following masks you can specify your search.

For example, you can enter a name in the "Search term" search bar. However, all entries that are entered in the "About me" text, for example, are also displayed. The first search field is therefore the most powerful field and all others find their practice in enabling really specific searches. After a successful search, the found people will be listed below the search mask and you can contact them or take a closer look at their profile by pressing the corresponding buttons.

As conference organisers, there is a lot to plan - you have an idea, develop a concept and a programme, determine your target group and so on and so forth... Since you want to hold your conference on DINA, we would like to reduce your workload a little, at least at this point, and provide you with the following checklist. Below, you will find important points you should have sorted out before the start of your conference:

• Create your conference, design it and add a results project, if necessary. Important note: Create a microsite to make your conference appealing to participants or to attract external interest in your project.

• Determine how participants can register for your conference - with a simple or detailed application form. (If you need a more complex registration form, you can of course use other tools (such as pretix.eu or any other form provider).

• Give your participants a briefing so that they can quickly find their way around DINA. For more information, see the Participant Checklist.

• Give your interpreters a brief so that they can quickly find their way around DINA. For more information, see the Interpreter Checklist.

• Book the necessary server capacity free of charge at least one week before the start of your conference.

• Designate one or more people from your team as the technical contact person who can be reached by chat or phone during the conference and inform them accordingly in advance.

In order to successfully participate in a meeting on DINA, please find below some helpful hints to ensure that you provide the best conditions for smooth participation:

• Dial in (if possible) with a PC or laptop (not with a smartphone or tablet).

• Use a stable internet connection (if possible, use a LAN connection via cable instead of WLAN).

• Currently, DINA.international works best with the browsers Firefox and Chrome whereas Safari is experiencing problems (if a conference is being interpreted, Safari is currently not working). We recommend that you use the latest version.

• Use headphones or preferably a headset for the best audio quality and to avoid feedback.

• Register well in advance to get to know the platform and its functions. Especially, if you use DINA from your workplace and your ability to make settings on your computer and browser is limited, an early test is highly recommended.

• The platform requires consent for the use of audio output and camera. Depending on your browser settings, the respective window may open in the background. So, check if the window has opened in the background, if you cannot share your audio or video.

• Make use of the technical check at the beginning of a meeting - if offered - in order to identify and solve any problems with the use of DINA.international in good time.

1. Entering the room​

When we enter the room, two options will appear: "Microphone" and "Listen only". If we press on "Microphone", it means that we want to actively participate by audio in the meeting.

Whereas, if we select "Listen only", you can only hear what the other participants say, but you will not be able to participate by audio.

1. Microphone

   • After having selected the "Microphone" option, it will tell you through a box to select the microphone you want to use. It is here, where you can select the source of your microphone, either the microphone of the device you use or the headphones you have connected.

   • Finally, you click "Join" and you will be able to talk in the meeting.

2. Listen only

   If you click on the "listen only" option, immediately afterwards it will direct you to the meeting so that you can only listen to the interventions of the other participants.

   Important: The option you choose at the start of the meeting, either "Microphone" or "listen only", does not mean that it will be final for the entire meeting. Since, then you can change the settings again during the meeting.

2. Audio​

1. Turn Microphone on or off

   Being inside the meeting, we can choose whether to activate or deactivate the microphone. How you can do this will depend on how you entered the room.

   1. If "Microphone" was chosen at the time of entering the Room

      • What you will have to do is go to the bottom left, find the microphone icon.

      • Then, you can mute/unmute the microphone by click the Microphone icon.

      • And in case you want to do more settings on your microphone, you can click that small down arrow icon to see more options.

   2. If "listen only" was chosen at the time of entering the Room

      • What you will have to do is go to the lower left part, locate the microphone icon, and click on it.

      • A box will immediately appear in which you will need to select the microphone of your preference. Finally, you will need to click on "Join".

      • At that point your microphone will be activated.

      • Then you can mute/unmute the microphone by click the Microphone icon or click that down arrow icon to see more options.

2. Select the microphone of preference

   While by the time you entered the meeting, you may have already set up the microphone of preference, you can do it again while the meeting is being held. For that, you need to go to the microphone icon and then select within the first options of the drop-down list, the microphone you prefer to use.

   This way of choosing the microphone can be used if the microphone has already been activated.

3. Video​

When the meeting is taking place, you can choose to turn on the webcam.

1. Activate webcam

   • To do this you need to go to the bottom left and press on the camera icon.

   • After that, you will be asked “ plugNmeet requires you to give it access permission to your camera ”, in which you will have to select "Allow".

   • Immediately afterwards, it will be able to display you on your screen.

   • Below your video image, you will see some options, these are virtual background options. You can choose a virtual background options if you want.

   • Finally, you click on "Share".

This is how you will have already activated your webcam.

1. Turn off webcam

   • In case you no longer want to share your webcam, what you will have to do is go to the camera icon.

   • Just click the camera icon once

   • Your webcam will no longer be shared immediately.

4. Share Screen​

1. To share, you will have to go to the bottom center and select the icon of a laptop with an arrow.

2. Then, a box will appear where you can select which window, browser tab or screen you want to share.

3. You click on “Share”.

4. Screen sharing will now be taking place.

5. Later, in case you want to stop sharing the screen, you must go again to the icon of a laptop with an arrow.

5. Whiteboard​

In the meeting it is possible to use a shared whiteboard among all participants.

1. Activate whiteboard

   To activate the whiteboard, you have to go to the bottom center and click on the whiteboard icon. And the whiteboard will have already been activated.

2. Use whiteboard

   Within the whiteboard, various tools will appear to use, but they will only be available if the moderator has given participants access.

   • Zoom or zoom out: Its location is in the lower left, where with the symbol "+" you can zoom, while if you select "-" it will move away.

   • Undo or Redo: Its location is in the lower left. If the arrow is on the left, it means that you want to undo the last change made; on the other hand, if the arrow is to the right, it means that you want to redo the last change you had discarded.

   • Shapes: Its location is in the upper central part. The shape that is selected is the one that can be drawn on the board and customized depending on the size and color you want.

   • Pencil: Its location is in the upper central part. With the icon of a pencil. It will allow you to write freely, with the color you want.

   • Text: Its location is in the upper central part. With the "A" icon. It will allow you to write text, with the color, size, and font you want.

   • Images: Its location is in the upper right. Allows you to attach images to display on the board. You will only have to click on the "Clip" icon and select the image you want to appear on the whiteboard and then be able to enlarge or shrink it.

   • Delete: Your location is at the top left. With the icon of a bin. Pressing will cause everything that was done on the whiteboard to be erased.

   • Export: Its location is in the upper left. With the icon of an image with an arrow to the right. When clicked, it will lead to a window in which you can choose the type of format in which you want to export the content of the whiteboard (PNG or SVG), as well as the scale (1x, 2x 3x) and whether you want to place a white or transparent background. To finally export it, the final step should be to choose the format to export, which will lead to a window in which one must select the location of where you want the file to be exported.

3. Hide whiteboard

   In case you no longer want to use the whiteboard, what you will have to do is go to the bottom center and click on the whiteboard icon. And if there are still traces on the board, they will not be eliminated, but can continue to be used in the same place that was left when the board is reactivated.

6. Share Notepad​

1. Activate notepad The moderator has to activate the notepad and the functions.

2. Use notepad Within the notepad, several tools will appear to use. In the upper left you can see the options to put the text in bold, italic, underlined and strikethrough. In addition, you can enumerate, list the text, modify the alignment of the text and make use of undo or redo. Also, in the central part, where you can see a blank sheet, is where you can write the text. Finally, to export the document or import an existing one, you have to go to the top right and click on the arrow icon to choose the option you want.

3. Hide notepad In case you no longer want to use the notepad, the moderator will have to deactivate it.

7. Raise your hand​

1. To raise your hand, you will have to go to the bottom center and select the hand icon.

2. Then, it will notify you that you have raised your hand.

3. Then, if you no longer want to have your hand raised, you must go back to the hand icon and press to lower the hand.

8. Breakout room​

The moderator may divide the session into groups:

1. You will look a notification at the bottom right indicating that you have been invited to a breakout room. There you will have to click on "Join".

2. Then a new tab will open to enter your group.

3. Your room will have a duration of minutes that the moderator will set.

4. Once the time is up, a message will appear saying, "Room disconnected".

5. Then, you will have to close that tab and return to the tab where the main room is.

Each breakout room has the same functionalities as the main room.

9. Public Chat​

1. To be able to view the chat, you must go to the bottom center and select the icon of a message.

2. Then, you will be able to see that you can write messages in the chat.

3. In addition, you can send files. To do this, within the chat, you will see a clip icon. You press on it.

4. Then, you select the file, and you will see that in the chat the link of your file will appear so that the other participants can download it.

10. Private Chat​

During the meeting you can send private messages to the users who are present in the video call:

1. To do this you first have to make sure you can view the list of participants.

2. Then identify the user to whom you will want to write a private message.

3. You will see that on the side of his name there is a symbol of "...". You'll have to click in those three points.

4. Then you will select the option "Send private message".

5. Next, the chat will be set up so that you only talk to the user you wanted to send a private message to.

6. In the chat the name of the user will appear, and the chat will already be enabled to be able to send a private message. If you no longer want to send private messages, you can change it to public chat:

7. You'll have to go to the chat and tap on the username.

8. A drop-down list will appear, and you will select "Public chat".

9. That way you can return to the public chat.

11. Waiting Room​

The meeting can be configured with a waiting room so that users wait before entering. So a message will appear while you are waiting. The approval of your admission will depend on the moderator.

12. Poll​

The moderator will be able to make polls to know the opinions of the participants within the meeting.

1. When the moderator creates a new poll, a notification will appear on the upper right side indicating that there is a new poll and you will have to click on "Open".

2. Then, it will direct you to the "Polls" tab.

3. You will select the survey that has just been created.

4. You will click on "Vote" from the survey.

5. A dialog box will appear in which you can select your answer and click on "Submit". That way you will record your vote.

6. The moderator will then define when the poll will end.

7. After the survey is over, you will be able to see the results in the section where you voted, because now a button will be enabled that dries "view result".

8. It should be noted that the moderator will also be able to publish the results in the public chat, so you may be able to see them there.

13. See list of participants​

1. To see the list of participants, what must be done is to go to the bottom center, select the icon on which two people appear.

2. In case you no longer want to see, you press again on the same icon.

14. Access general settings​

Three sections will appear here:

1. Application settings: Here you can choose the preferred language.

2. Data saving: It can be activated if you want to show webcams or screen sharing in the meeting.

3. Notifications: You can choose whether to allow an audio notification.

15. Software Version​

If you want to know which version of the software you are using now, you can go to the top left, select the icon of three vertical dots, and then choose "Settings". From the pop up window, at the bottom area, you will see the current version of the software.

This information is useful when you want to report a problem about the software.

16. Logout the meeting​

1. To be able to leave the meeting, you must go to the upper right, select the icon of the three vertical points, and then choose “Log out”.

2. A confirmation box will then appear to make sure you want to leave the meeting.