Highlights of the Meet-up: The event featured engaging brainstorming activities, fun quiz segments, and insightful discussion sessions. A pre meet-up was also organized on the evening of April 13th for those who had informed me in advance that they wouldn’t be able to attend the main session due to work commitments. In total, 22 Local Guides participated across both the pre meet-up and the main event. Notable attendees included Connect Moderator @TusharSuradkar, Meet-up Champion @TravellerG , Accessibility Champion @Kumaarsantosh, and very active and dedicated senior India Local Guides @AjitThite and @PrasadVR
The meet-up began with a warm welcome note by me as a host. Following that, a brainstorming, Knowledge Shairing and Quiz Sessions on “Organising a Meet-up in North India” were conducted as per the agenda.
Brainstorming Session Activities
During this session, meet-up participants were invited to share their responses to five questions. The responses were collected using a digital platform, and a word cloud was generated and shared with participants via the host’s screen.
The questions discussed during the brainstorming session were:
What places in North India would you like to visit in May, June, or July?
Which date would suit you best for the Mega Meetup in Delhi?
If you could attend your dream Local Guides meet-up, what would it include?
@TravellerG ji shared many valuable suggestions, including the formation of an organising committee and delegation of responsibilities among committee members. He emphasized the importance of hospitality for Local Guides traveling from distant places.
@TusharSuradkar ji recommended spending at least five hours at one location, incorporating multiple knowledge-sharing sessions and fun activities. He highlighted that this would help Local Guides from different regions to bond and learn from one another.
@AjitThite Ji appreciated the South India Mega Meetup organised by @TravellerG and suggested a series of steps to follow before and during the event.
@Kumaarsantosh ji provided significant assistance in testing the various digital activities well in advance of the scheduled meet-up. He also proposed organising a physical meet-up in Delhi and forming the organising committee as soon as possible.
During the session, @PrasadVR ji recommended some improvements to the questions used in the brainstorming session. His suggestions were noted and accepted.
@Gurukrishnapriya ji shared several suggestions based on her previous experience participating in Mega Meetups. She emphasized the importance of including highly experienced members like @TravellerG in the organising committee—even if they are unable to attend in person, they can still support and guide the team remotely. I agreed, acknowledging that no current core committee member has prior experience organizing a mega meet-up.
It was further decided that @ShreyaMusings will host the Mega Meet-up in Delhi and will form the organising committee shortly for further planning and execution.
Note:
During the meet-up, someone raised a concern about referring to it as a “North India” meet-up. At the time, I chose not to engage in the discussion so we could stay focused and complete the agenda. However, as the host, I would now like to clarify that the title of the meet-up was “Organising a meet-up in North India”, which clearly indicates that the discussion was centered around planning a meet-up to be held in North India. It was not about labeling the meet-up itself as a “North India meet-up.”
Quiz Session
A fun quiz session was held during the meet-up, featuring 10 multiple-choice questions related to Local Guides Connect and Google Maps. The quiz was conducted via a digital platform, and all participants could view the group’s progress live on the host’s shared screen while playing on their mobiles or laptops.The quiz results were announced immediately after the quiz.
At the end, the host expressed heartfelt gratitude to everyone whose valuable presence contributed to the success of the meet-up. All participants are kindly requested to fill out the feedback form.
@K.K.Sharmaji very well written recap.I enjoyed everything from interactive session to participating in Puzzle.looking forward to more such session from you.
Vrindavan will be best for Northern Mega Meet-up
spiritual and cultural significance of Vrindavan is perfect and unique.
Vibrant Atmosphere
Cultural Richness
Photo(picturesque) Opportunities .
Local food flavours & local handcraft artisans & local & small businesses.
Local Guides can focus on mapping and reviewing temples, ashrams, local eateries, and lesser-known gems of Vrindavan, & Local Guides also aware of and providing valuable information to pilgrims and tourists from around the world with Google Maps.
Hi @K.K.Sharma, I appreciate your efforts and the way you conducted the meetup. You gave everyone a chance to share their views, irrespective of their experience, and considered them. The quiz you created to collect data was excellent. Your recap was very well summarized and informative.
Very good informative meetup @K.K.Sharma . Though new, you are taking up a good initiative and I really appreciate the enthusiasm you people are showing. All the beat for the proposed meetup. As @ShailendraOjha mentioned the meetup venue can be anywhere else. Wherever is the place my support is there always.
Your suggestion of the venue choice is worth considering. It is a good location from a meet-up point of view. Thanks for sharing your views, dear @ShailendraOjha ji.
Thank you @Gurukrishnapriya ma’am it just my suggestion for Mega Meet-up & My own philosophy regarding Mega Meet is that it should be a memorable meetup for whoever comes to it,Which includes learning & teaching, exchange of knowledge, discovering hidden gems and much more.
Thanks
Exactly Jhumri Talaiya is a very wonderful place in Bhopal but there should be a mega meet of Central India, North India and West India, of the whole of India. @TusharSuradkar Dada
First of all please accept my congratulations for having conducted such a wonderful meet-up. I admire your preparedness for the meet-up with the dilligence in your pre-meet-up tasks.
The modulus operendi of quiz was excellent. This was quite entertaining, engaging and well informed in the real time. Thanks for your discovery.
The brainstorming was the theme of this meet-up and truly justified. One of the key changes which I can smell now is to move the mega meet-ups from regional levels to country level maintaining the regional flavour intact. If this happens, it is going to be a great welcome change.
Once again thank you and all other participants of the meet-up for their valuable inputs.
Thank you @ShailendraOjha ji for your suggestions. I am including it in my personal meetups list. Though I have visited here many times but still will love to organize a meet-up here.
Sure, @TusharSuradkar! One full day will be dedicated to the meet-up, where we’ll gather at a single location and spend the day engaging in various activities.
Next day we will explore local heritage and businesses, participation in which will be optional.
Thank you for appreciation and writing your feedback in detail. @Kumaarsantosh
Your active support has been a key factor behind this success. Every time I tried something new, you were there to help test it—joining virtually, even late at night. I truly appreciate it. Thank you once again!
Thanks for tagging me in your post, dear friend @ShailendraOjha
To be frank with you, I’m not fit for suggesting a meet-up destination in North India…
Thanks for understanding…
Regards
