You might have already heard that RootsTech 2021, to be held February 25-27, is going to be all virtual. The original conference was scheduled for February 3-6, so be sure to note the date change in your calendar.

Not only that, RootsTech Connect 2021 will be entirely free, enabling many more people from across the world to enroll and enjoy a mid-winter genealogy pick-me-up.

You can read the official announcement, here and a blog post including a short video by Jen Allen, RootsTech event planner, here, featuring video footage from recent RootsTech conferences. You just might see someone you know!

You do need to register though, even though the event is free. Registration will assure that you receive announcements, schedules and notifications about speakers.

There’s still a lot up in the air, but we do know a few things.

• Some classes will be presented in multiple languages.
• All classes will be recorded and will be available for viewing at your convenience.
• There will be celebrity keynotes, although they have not been announced.
• There will be a virtual marketplace with your favorite vendors, and maybe more that wouldn’t otherwise be able to participate.
• Rootstech is no longer constrained by a limit on rooms, so there may be more speakers and sessions than ever.
• Typically, speakers are already selected and notified by this time, but due to the change to a virtual conference, speaker selection is still ongoing. Speaker candidates have been asked to modify their original class submissions to be no more than 20 minutes, max, so sessions will be shorter than at the in-person conferences of past years.
• RootsTech will be incorporating cultural experiences in some manner.
• “Socializing” in some way has been discussed, but plans are still ongoing.

RootsTech staff hosted a RootsTech Connect livestream yesterday, where they shared their vision and answered questions – you can view here on YouTube.

It will be a challenge to host the world’s largest genealogy conference remotely, online, with more attendees than ever before.

I’d say that the “tech” part of RootsTech is really going to get the opportunity to live up to their name. We will all be making history, together, that’s for sure. We won’t miss the lines, but we will miss seeing each other in person. I look back now and cherish those minutes and hours more than ever and so look forward to 2022, hopefully in person once again where we can visit the Family History Library, sit, visit, break bread and hug.

Meanwhile, I’m grateful for this opportunity and will see you “there,” one way or another.

You can register, here.

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