Only annual meeting registrants can login to the virtual meeting and be recognized for continuing education credit. Sharing a login or attempting to rebroadcast annual meeting content to someone else is prohibited. The virtual annual meeting platform has tools in place to identify any violations and terminate the registered user’s registration without refund and result in forfeiture of all continuing education credits earned.

Only annual meeting registrants can login to the virtual annual meeting and be recognized for continuing education credit. Content is only available to annual meeting registrants. Downloading and sharing recorded content is prohibited. The virtual annual meeting platform has tools in place to identify any violations and terminate the registered user’s registration without refund and result in forfeiture of all continuing education credits earned. Please contact us at cf@safnet.org regarding presentation sharing permissions.

You can register anytime from now through March 4, 2022. However, only those who register by 7:00 am ET on March 22, 2021 will be able to attend the live production of the annual meeting.

Single day registration is not available.

Times listed in the program and on the agenda page are US Eastern Time.

There is no limitation to the number of people that can collectively participate in the virtual annual meeting. However, some sessions may limit how many participants may connect. SAF’s virtual platform has sufficient bandwidth to handle several thousand participants in a single presentation or any combination of sessions. Regarding how many can participate via your own internet connection, that will depend on your office or household internet bandwidth. Most business connections are built to handle their employee’s needs, but you should consult your company’s IT department regarding bandwidth for streaming video. Generally speaking, with a household connection, two individuals should be able to participate at the same time on a broadband connection with a download speed of 25Mbps or more per second. A good test is it have all users stream video from YouTube (or a similar streaming service) at the same time on the same connection to see if there is any latency or rebuffering. If that functions well, you shouldn’t experience any issues with the NESAF 2021 Virtual Annual Winter Meeting.

SAF’s virtual annual meeting platform has sufficient bandwidth to avoid any crashes based on volume and employs industry leading practices (like Google and Amazon) to safeguard against any technological disruption, as well as redundancies to restore functionality quickly. In the unlikely event of disruption, processes are in place to restore functionality. Widespread power outages (brown-outs/black-outs), the severing of telecom cables, and acts of God cannot be ruled out as minimal but potential risks.

NESAF, the annual meeting program host, has dedicated technical support personnel to assist with any virtual meeting issues. Guidance on seeking support will be available on the annual meeting website and in information provided to you prior to the start of the program.

There is no requirement for you to stay connected all the time or participate in all sessions. You have the flexibility to set your own schedule. There are live events, such as plenaries and workshop sessions. If you wish to see them in real-time, we encourage you to plan your schedule accordingly. Most live sessions will be recorded and available on demand following the live session starting May 2021 through 11:59 pm ET on March 24, 2022.

Everybody needs a break. Should you need to step away from the annual meeting you can logout or remain connected and pick-up where you left off upon your return. For any live events involving a camera, we encourage you to turn off your camera and mute your microphone when stepping away.

There will be a mixture of live and recorded presentations. All presentations, where the presenters have agreed to SAF recording of them, will ultimately be available on demand to registered attendees May 2021 through March 24, 2022.

A few weeks prior to the start of the virtual annual meeting, a link to the website will be posted on the NESAF website and ForestEd.org. NESAF will also email you in advance of the annual meeting start with the location of the virtual annual meeting website and details on how to login.

Prior to the start of the annual meeting we encourage you to visit www.safnet.org/signin and use the links to retrieve your username and/or reset your password. Your login to the virtual annual meeting is the same as what you use to login to the SAF website. If the annual meeting has started, you can go to the virtual annual meeting website and click on Login and connect with a session in progress, or Register to gain access to the program if you are not yet registered. You will find links to retrieve your username and reset your password.

First ensure that you have your login credentials available and that they are correct. Your login credentials (username and password) are the same as those you use to login to SAF’s website, www.safnet.org. At the top of the virtual annual meeting website, there will be a button, labeled Register Now. Please follow it to get registered. Select Login at the top right of the page to retrieve login information. Be sure to not create a new account.

You can use your choice of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari to participate in the annual meeting. While other browsers may work, we have verified that these specific browsers will connect without issue. Please note that Internet Explorer is incompatible with the virtual annual meeting.

You will need a DSL or broadband connection, via cable or satellite, or better to participate. Dial-up connections will not have sufficient bandwidth to stream our multimedia presentations. A quick test is to see if you can stream a YouTube video without the video pausing to re-buffer. If it pauses/re-buffers, try another video. If you can stream video without interruption, your connection is sufficient for the annual meeting. If not, we encourage you to find an alternate connection.

The NESAF Virtual Annual Winter Meeting can be accessed from a desktop computer, laptop, or mobile device. With our heavy usage of video and presentation slides, the best experience will come from using either a desktop or laptop computer, or a mobile device using a larger external display. If you will be engaging in workshops or live events, ensure that your device is equipped with a camera and microphone and that your privacy settings will allow them to work with your preferred internet browser.

You will need a computer with Windows, iOS, or Linux based operating system or a mobile device with an Android or iOS operating system, a stable internet connection (either wired or wi-fi), and an internet browser such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Edge or Safari. If you plan to participate in any workshops, business meetings, or the award ceremony, we encourage you to use a device equipped with a camera and a microphone. These are not required for accessing plenary and most technical sessions. For any interactive sessions where you will use your microphone or camera, you will want to check the privacy settings on your device to ensure it allows applications to access them.

You will be able to ask presenters for live and recorded presentations questions using a chat function on that session’s page. The chat function may be a chat box or the Q&A box. For live sessions, a moderator will prompt the presenter(s) to answer questions. For recorded sessions, presenters will be available to answer questions during the presentation’s scheduled time via the chat function. If you are unfamiliar with that, you type a question into the chat box and click on the submit button for the presenter to see your question. The Q&A function operates similarly. Both the Q&A and chat box functions can be accessed on the tool bar at the bottom of the Zoom window on your screen.

No matter where you are in the annual meeting, start by self-troubleshooting here within the FAQs. For additional questions, you can email cf@safnet.org.

All NESAF annual meeting content will be delivered via Zoom Webinar behind a protected wall through our virtual annual meeting provider, CommPartners. Live content will be delivered via Zoom Meetings with the link hidden to prevent intrusion or sharing.

If you will be using a corporate-issued device and/or internet connection, please consult your corporate policy and abide by it. If that policy prevents you from participating, we suggest that you use a personal device and connection not subject to restrictions.

Unlike direct use of Zoom Webinar, which is already secure, our virtual convention provider has built in additional layers of security to prevent intrusions. Having conducted thousands of Zoom Webinar sessions for hundreds of clients, our provider has never had an intrusion.

You can earn up to 13.5 CFEs in Category 1 during the days of the annual meeting. With your continued access you can earn up to an additional 16.0 CFEs through March 24, 2022.

To earn CFEs you will watch a session in entirety and submit the CFE verification code when it becomes available at the end of the presentation. Moderators will not release the verification code early. Once you view the sessions you choose, be sure to enter the verification code prior to navigating to another session. After entering the correct verification code, a green box with a check mark will confirm success. CFEs will automatically post to your SAF CFE record in our database by the end of day. No further form or submissions will be involved.

Presentations eligible for CFEs will require a CFE verification code. This code will be announced during the session. Zoom attendance records will further verify complete attendance.

CFEs can be earned for the majority of the sessions, except for the Business Meeting, Award Ceremony, and Speed Networking sessions. Sessions available for you to earn CFEs will include a CFE verification code that you will be given during the presentation. If any session page does not include a space for a verification code, it is not eligible for CFEs.

For CFE eligible sessions, certificates will be available for download for your personal record keeping. SAF does not accept these certificates for CFEs. CFEs will automatically post to your SAF CFE record by the end of the day of completion.

Unlike an in-person event, you will be able to continue earning CFEs after the annual meeting ends. Most sessions will remain available to you through March 24, 2022 and the process for earning credits will remain the same as during the live event.

CFEs will appear automatically on your record by the end of the day following completion of the session and entry of the announced CFE verification code.

For questions about CFEs, please email cf@safnet.org.

All registrations are non-refundable.

There is not an option to transfer your registration to another individual. Keep in mind that you can continue to access the program content through March 24, 2022.

Since most content will be available following the live event, we encourage you to not cancel your registration and to view the content at your convenience through March 24, 2022. No refunds will be allowed except in the case of a personal emergency occurring on or before March 22, 2021. SAF reserves the right to request verification prior to issuing a refund.

You will not receive a refund unless you experience a personal emergency preventing you to view the annual meeting content through March 24, 2022.