The Columbia River Treaty Review team recognizes that it is not always possible for Basin residents to attend a community consultation workshop, even if the workshop is held in their community. In order to reach more Basin residents, the Treaty Review team streamed the November 28 community consultation workshop in Trail live. Streaming the workshop live meant Basin residents could listen to presentations and view PowerPoint slides as it was happening from a computer at a location of their choice.

Streaming is a method of delivering audio or video over the Internet. Instead of having to download a file to your computer and listen or view it after the download is complete, streaming lets you hear the sound/view the image as it arrives at your computer with just a couple seconds delay. The delay, called “buffering”, minimizes interruptions in the audio/video due to congestion on the Internet because the computer can continue to provide an image and sound as long as there is data in the buffer. If the congestion goes on for too long, the buffer can empty and the audio or video will stop until it catches up. The quality of the streaming will depend on the quality of the Internet connection, with audio usually prioritized over video.

To participate in a streamed workshop you need a computer with an Internet connection (Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari are recommended), soundcard, speakers or headphone and the appropriate free software to make streaming work. A microphone or headset is optional because you can type your conversation in a chat box. Participants can talk to each other as well as submit questions to the presenters via a moderator.

The Columbia River Treaty Review used Citrix GoToMeeting to provide streaming on November 28. GoToMeeting is a service which enables a user to connect with other computer users via the Internet in real-time. It is available for free online download. When you link to the GoToMeeting website, you are prompted to download the free software program. Once this is downloaded you are set up to participate.

Streaming enables a broadcast from nearly any location to anyone, anywhere. However, with streaming, you will get to listen or watch as it happens, but you won't have the file on your computer to review later. The streamed file of the November 28 community consultation workshop in Trail will be posted to our website in the near future at http://blog.gov.bc.ca/columbiarivertreaty/community-sessions/