2025 Participant Survey

November 18, 2025 by Martha SimsAFS News, Annual Meeting News

2025 AFS Annual Meeting Participant Survey

Thank you for joining us for the 2025 AFS Annual Meeting, in Atlanta and during the virtual portion!

Your feedback will help us identify goals and priorities as we plan for future annual meetings. Please submit your survey response by 5pm ET on December 15, 2025. This survey should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Rate the Annual Meeting overall.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, how would you rate the meeting.

Please explain your rating.

The 2025 Annual Meeting took place in-person in Atlanta from Saturday, October 18 through Tuesday, October 21 and virtually from Wednesday, November 12 through Friday, November 14. Which of these days did you attend? (Check all that apply)

Saturday, Oct. 18

Sunday, Oct. 19

Monday, Oct. 20

Tuesday, Oct. 21

Wednesday, Nov. 12

Thursday, Nov. 13

Friday, Nov. 14

Tell us about your in-person experience at the Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

What types of sessions and events did you attend and participate in during the in-person days in Atlanta?

Paper sessions

Forums

Plenaries and lectures

Receptions or social events (large group events)

Social events (more intimate section social gatherings and/or interest group gatherings)larger events

Workshops, experiential sessions (dance, pop-up exhibits)

Performance events/sessions (live music, film, dance)

Paper sessions

Forums

Plenaries and lectures

Special events (workshops, performances, etc.)

Live virtual access to in-person lectures, panels, and performances (live-streamed events)

If you participated live in one of the limited HYBRID sessions or events in any capacity, please indicate the nature of your participation (remote attendee? in-person presenter? etc.) and describe your experience.

Tell us about your experience accessing the Annual Meeting program

Which of these did you use during the week of the Annual Meeting in Atlanta? (Check all that apply)

2025 Online Meeting Platform on Fourwaves

Printed program (full print program and/or schedule-at-a-glance)

Printable PDF of the Annual Meeting schedule

Abstracts Addendum (available via QR code)

The Annual Meeting Program, available on the Fourwaves platform, offered online access to the full program schedule and was updated as soon as we learned of withdrawals or rescheduling needs. This access allowed remote presenters to join their sessions live, and provided live and asynchronous access to plenary, events and hybrid panels for registered attendees.

What was your experience using these methods for accessing the program in Atlanta? Please be specific about which items you are referencing.

Rate your overall experience with AV and technology (i.e. microphones, presentation visibility, Zoom, etc.)

AV and Technology worked well in all sessions	AV and Technology worked well in most sessions	AV and Technology worked sometimes	AV and Technology did not work well in most sessions	AV and Technology did not work in any sessions

Provide any specific feedback you have about your AV and technology experience.

Tell us about your experience during the virtual portion of the Annual Meeting.

How many sessions did you attend and participate in during the virtual portion of the meeting, Nov. 12-14?

1-2

several

most

only able to attend my own session

Reflecting on the virtual portion, please let us know about these things: Was the meeting easy to access? What made it successful or challenging for you to attend? What would have made it a better experience for you?

Tell us more about your participation in the meeting, considering program components.

We try to balance access to participation with the number of total sessions. Please let us know how you felt about the number of sessions.

Too little

Too many

Just right

This year in Atlanta, we extended the session blocks on Monday and Tuesday evenings. In past years, we scheduled 3 session blocks per day, and this year we had 4 session blocks on Monday and Tuesday. What was your experience with the duration of programming on Monday and Tuesday when we had one additional session block?

Noticed but it didn’t affect my experience.

This did not work well for me.

This worked well for me.

A number of panels (both in-person and virtual) included a mix of presentation lengths—some short (10-minute presentations), some "standard" 20-minute presentations), and some in between. To what extent did this impact the way you navigated the meeting?

Did not notice

Noticed but it didn’t affect my experience

Found this frustrating

Found this appealing

What meeting events or experiences did you enjoy most and/or find most intellectually stimulating? Please share what you felt were the most valuable parts of your experience, including but not limited to sessions or programs you attended, and why.

Is there any type of programming that you think was missing at the 2025 annual meeting, or at recent AFS meetings in general? Please be as specific as you can.

If you had accessibility needs during any part of our meeting, were your needs met or not? Please explain. Do you have any access needs or disability accommodations you would like us to know about for future programs?

What were the most challenging and disappointing aspects of the meeting, and what remedies do you suggest?

Did you make use of our additional services and/or participate in additional offerings?

Our Exhibit Areas (this year in two locations, on the Ballroom and Sky levels) offer space where attendees can browse, socialize, and network. Which exhibits appealed to you and/or allowed you to engage with your colleagues?

Book displays and sales

Publisher meetings and conversations

Artistic exhibits and interactive exhibits/displays

Institution and organization displays and representatives

Activities (e.g., bracelet making)

Section auctions

Other (note in comment box below)

How and why did you make use of exhibit and display areas?

Several special events and sessions were planned with our local community partners. Which events did you participate in?

Feed Your Stories: Joint Community Block Party In Historic South Atlanta (Co-hosted by OHA and AFS)

Keynote: The Tar Baby Principle: A Black Feminist Take on Southern Folklore

Tour of Center for Puppetry Arts, led by Local Committee member Paulette Richards

Other- Please respond using the comment box below tour questions (“How and why did you make use of these …”)

Office Hours held prior to the meeting, during spring and summer.

Digital posters on the Conference Platform, Fourwaves

Print Program

How and why did you or did you not make use of these services, activities and/or items? Please clearly identify which of these (addressed above) you are commenting on.

Have you already accessed recordings of plenaries, hybrid, and virtual sessions?

Concluding thoughts and reflections

Tell us about any part of your annual meeting experience that was not already covered that is important for us to know about.

We sometimes make mistakes, and we are happy to correct any errors that you may come across on our site. If you find an error, please let us know using the “submit a correction” link.

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