Conference
The word “conference” is derived from the Latin “conferre,” meaning “to gather together, to compare.” Synonyms include meeting, gathering, or association. At a conference, participants usually gather around a flip chart to exchange ideas.
What is a conference?
A conference brings together members of organizations that are often widely scattered, or members of a professional group or industry, to discuss specific topics of mutual interest.
Well-known examples include scientific conferences, press conferences, web conferences, video conferences, and telephone conferences, as well as political conferences such as the Conference of Ministers of Education. A convention is a special type of conference.
Long tables at which people sit opposite each other to exchange ideas are therefore called conference tables, also known as block tables. The optimal seating arrangement is usually table seating (see also Seating).