Executive summary: This retrospective argues that EA Istanbul Summit 2025 successfully introduced many newcomers while strengthening an emerging national community, and distills concrete lessons on team coordination, volunteer management, content design, logistics, and outreach to improve future events.
Key points:
The summit drew 104 attendees from 215 applications, with 57.5% non-male applicants, a 9.1/β10 recommendation score, and an estimated cost of $205 per attendee.
Two part-time organizers spent ~468 total hours over 5.5 months, finding that more frequent check-ins and centralized budget management improved execution.
A volunteer team of 10 was recruited via direct outreach, with clearly defined single roles per volunteer identified as critical for smooth operations.
Content was intentionally beginner-friendly, reflecting that ~54% of applicants were new or minimally familiar with EA, though experienced attendees wanted more advanced or interactive sessions.
WhatsApp proved highly effective for reminders, engagement, and managing dropouts, while referrals from existing community members outperformed paid social media ads.
Post-event outcomes included $1,000 donated through a giving game, new volunteers and fellowship applicants, expanded WhatsApp group participation, and stated plans to deepen engagement through fellowships, retreats, and mentoring.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: This retrospective argues that EA Istanbul Summit 2025 successfully introduced many newcomers while strengthening an emerging national community, and distills concrete lessons on team coordination, volunteer management, content design, logistics, and outreach to improve future events.
Key points:
The summit drew 104 attendees from 215 applications, with 57.5% non-male applicants, a 9.1/β10 recommendation score, and an estimated cost of $205 per attendee.
Two part-time organizers spent ~468 total hours over 5.5 months, finding that more frequent check-ins and centralized budget management improved execution.
A volunteer team of 10 was recruited via direct outreach, with clearly defined single roles per volunteer identified as critical for smooth operations.
Content was intentionally beginner-friendly, reflecting that ~54% of applicants were new or minimally familiar with EA, though experienced attendees wanted more advanced or interactive sessions.
WhatsApp proved highly effective for reminders, engagement, and managing dropouts, while referrals from existing community members outperformed paid social media ads.
Post-event outcomes included $1,000 donated through a giving game, new volunteers and fellowship applicants, expanded WhatsApp group participation, and stated plans to deepen engagement through fellowships, retreats, and mentoring.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.