EA Global (EAG) and EAGx are a series of conferences for members of the effective altruism (EA) community.

Both EA Global and EAGx conferences typically last around 2-3 days. They involve talks, workshops, discussions, and many chances to network with people interested in effective altruism. The conferences can range in size, from several hundred to over a thousand attendees!

Although the events are very similar, there are some differences between EA Global and EAGx events. For example, EA Global is organized by the Centre for Effective Altruism, while EAGx is organized by members of the EA community, with support from the EA Global team. See below for more information.

If you need financial assistance for the cost of the ticket itself, please apply for a travel grant and provide details of your situation and need. We will review your information and get back to you with discount options.

Both EA Global (EAG) and EAGx events are quite similar; they are opportunities for people interested in effective altruism to make connections, exchange ideas, and attend talks and workshops over the course of a few days.

Just like there are TED and TEDx conferences, there are EAG and EAGx conferences. The ‘x’ indicates that this is a community-organised EAG event.

EA Global conferences are organized by the Centre for Effective Altruism, and people from all over the world attend these. The team at CEA is responsible for choosing the content, processing admissions, and production of the conference.

EAGx events, on the other hand, are mostly community-organized (with some support from the EA Global team). The target audience for EAGx events is broader than EAG, but tends to have a more regional focus. CEA provides funding and support to EAGx events (eg. access to our event app), but the local community organisers are responsible for choosing content, processing admissions, and the production of the conference.

EA Global and EAGx events are designed to help members of the effective altruism community make progress on the world’s pressing problems, by sharing new thinking and research as well as starting or coordinating on important projects. We have an admissions system for EA Global and EAGx events, to help us select for applicants who seem most able to help each other pursue these goals.

You can read more about what we’re looking for in the admissions section of the FAQ, but in short:

EA Global is mostly aimed at people who have a solid understanding of the core ideas of EA and who are taking significant actions based on those ideas. Many EA Global attendees are already professionally working on effective-altruism-inspired projects or working out how best to work on such projects.

EAGx conferences are primarily for people who are:

• Familiar with the core ideas of effective altruism
• Interested in learning more about what to do with these ideas
• From the region or country where the conference is taking place (or living there)

If you want to attend but are unsure about whether to apply, please err on the side of applying!

We sometimes admit people who view themselves as less experienced. We also sometimes admit people who are less invested in effective altruism than other applicants, but whose professional background or studies make them well placed to help other attendees at the conference to achieve their goals.

You must be 18 or older at the time of the event in order to attend EAG and EAGx events. In the past, we allowed under 18s to attend with a chaperone but this is no longer allowed, due to our current insurance policy.

Volunteers are crucial to the success of our conferences. Volunteers sign up to work a minimum number of shifts and attend volunteer training before the event starts, but besides these times, participate in the conference as all attendees do. This is why we require you to be accepted to the conference as an attendee before you can offer to volunteer.

Volunteers help the conference run smoothly in a variety of ways, such as liaising with speakers, welcoming attendees, managing the content rooms and helping attendees navigate the venue.

In the past, volunteers have found connecting with each other and the conference organizers to be extremely valuable, and we view this benefit as a crucial aspect of the volunteering process.

We think volunteering is particularly useful for:

• Attendees who want to try their operations or event-running skills
• Attendees who would like to help out with the conference
• First-time attendees who don’t expect to be completely booked with meetings
• Attendees who would like to meet other volunteers for a given reason

To volunteer, simply express interest in the application for the event itself.

We’ve found that attendees get much more value from the conference if they prepare in advance.

Here are some concrete steps you can take to prepare for the conference itself:

• Make a list of your priorities — what you’d like to get out of the conference
• Make a plan of action based on those priorities
• Follow the instructions in the emails you’re getting and make yourself a profile on Swapcard (our event app).
• Look through other people’s profiles and connect with those you’d like to meet with or who share your interests
• Look through sessions on the agenda and register for the ones you’d like to attend (and bookmark the ones you’re interested in but which you’re less sure about)
• Be realistic – plan in adequate time to rest, refuel and to have spontaneous conversations.
• Read Forum posts tagged “effective altruism conferences” for lots more tips on how to get the most out of attending a conference

EAGxAustralia 2023 is the primary EA conference for the Oceania region, including Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and other neighbouring countries. Applicants from farther afield are encouraged to consider an EA conference held closer to them. However we may consider applicants located outside Oceania if there is a compelling reason to attend EAGxAustralia specifically.

Swapcard is the app we use for our events. Attendees use it to:

Look at the agenda and register for the content sessions they’d like to attend
Make a profile to help you connect with other attendees – you can say what you do, what you’re interested in talking about, what ideas or expertise you can give others, and how to contact you
Request 1-1 or small group meetings with other attendees – choose the people, the time and the meeting point
Send messages to coordinate with other attendees, during and after the conference
Find key information about the event, such as the attendee guide, map, wifi, jobs board or what time food is being served
Once your application has been accepted to the conference, you’ll be given access to the event Swapcard page roughly 1-2 weeks before the event.

At EA Global, EAGx events and social events associated with EA Global or EAGx events, all attendees agree to:

Respect the boundaries of other participants.
Look out for one another and try to help if you can.
Adhere to national and local health and safety regulations, as well as any additional policies we institute for EA Global.
This is a professional learning and networking event. These behaviors don’t belong at EA Global or related events:

Unwanted sexual attention, or sexual harassment of any kind.
Using the event app to request meetings for romantic or sexual reasons.
Offensive, disruptive, or discriminatory actions or communication.
We understand that human interaction is complex. If you feel able, please give each other the benefit of explaining behavior you find unwelcome or offensive.

If you’re asked to stop a behaviour that’s causing a problem for someone, we expect you to stop immediately.

You can contact us at conference@eagxaustralia.com if you have any questions.

All our conferences have at least one community contact person, whose role is to be available for personal or interpersonal problems that come up. Feedback can also be left anonymously on the event survey, or on the community health team’s anonymous contact form.

We try to make our conferences accessible to everyone. Please ask at conference@eagxaustralia.com if you have questions about accessibility or if you need us to make any accommodations.

Catered food at our conferences is typically vegan, and any non-vegan or allergy-specific food will be labeled. Each event will share a participant guide with accepted attendees shortly before the conference. This will cover many things, including more information about food at the conference.

If you need to bring your own food, we are usually able to help you with refrigerator space — please ask at conference@eagxaustralia.com

In general, attendees are responsible for booking their own accommodation. Approximately two weeks before an EAG event, a conference Slack will be available. There will be channels specifically for coordinating accommodation with other attendees.

If you may need a visa in order to attend, you should apply as early as possible, and let us know during your application; there is a designated question about this. We can provide you with a visa letter if you are admitted.

Refunds are possible until two weeks before the conference. Please contact us at conference@eagxaustralia.com if you require a refund.