How Going Virtual and Free Could Be a ‘Game Changer’ for RootsTech Connect

From an article by Trent Toone in the Deseret News:

“With the world’s largest family history conference less than a week away, Feb. 25-27, more than 315,000 participants from more than 200 countries and territories worldwide have registered with nearly 90% of those participating for the first time.

Thousands attend RootsTech at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. This year’s free, virtual RootsTech Connect is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of participants. Photo by Scott G Winterton of the Deseret News.

That’s a dramatic increase from previous years in the Salt Palace Convention Center, with about 30,000 attending in person and an average of 100,000 online viewers, according to Jen Allen, one of RootsTech Connect’s director of events at FamilySearch and one of the event’s main organizers.

“‘It has been a challenge and a learning curve,” Allen said. “But the fact that so many people can engage in the learning and the inspiration from around the world, it’s been just incredible to watch that grow. … This is a game changer. The global approach of it will never go away.'”

There is a lot more information, including a list of the 2021 keynote speakers, at http://bit.ly/37sYtvX.