The progressive increase in outbreaks, the spread of contagions, the sharp drop in the tourist sector, the closure of nightlife, the ban on smoking in the street, the declaration of a health emergency in the Basque Country..., all point to a bleak outlook for the near future for meeting. The health response to the virus calls for atomization and division of the "social landscape", so that, a priori, its expansion neither financial aid nor facilitates the joy of the meeting or the warmth of the event, and thus contributes to reinforce a particularistic worldview immersed in many uncertainties. And this panorama will affect, for some time and until an effective vaccine is reached, our way of celebrating, of gathering, of being and making social space..., altering the format of the events and calling for their new reinterpretation.

Events (in the broadest sense of the term) represent the dynamic drive of society and stand as the maximum sociocultural expression of the individual in his or her belonging to group in all its manifestations. Through festivals, fairs, meals, celebrations, meetings..., the individual interacts creating social "space" and "time" (following the conceptual frameworks of the sociologist Anthony Giddens). And in this constant search for interaction and vital continuity, the individual is redefining this "space of meeting" either in a face-to-face dimension -with the use of masks, limited seating, 2 meters distance between seats- or makes use of technology to meet telematically from a distance with the other in a common virtual space.

The Democratic Party in the USA has seen very clearly this adaptation and the option of continuity in this new framework of reality. Life must go on ("the show must go on", as they say) and in the face of a pandemic status like the one the country is going through, Joe Biden's team has kicked off -a month late- the campaign to elect candidates without the traditional show that accompanies these festive and multitudinous political events. The solution; the Democratic Party Convention that is being held these days has found in the virtual space the formula to reach and encourage its delegates and electorate after the decision to cancel the public events. It is true that it is not the same. That the warmth of closeness is missing, the shared emotion, that the applause either does not exist or seems canned, and that no matter how many technical advances there are, the national anthem does not sound the same from home. But the important thing is that it sounds. Therefore, for the time being and until more salubrious times -and we have to eliminate the feeling of temporariness because the status can be extended-, this is the way to go and we must see it as an intelligent opportunity for reconversion (as Gustavo Entrala, expert in brands and product image, encourages).

In principle, I am of the opinion that events that were scheduled cannot be eliminated because this generates a social vacuum, in addition to breaking the rhythm of work of the teams involved in your organization. However, the cancellation of networkings or conferences of work does not imply the end of professional opportunities. It is necessary to break the barrier of the traditional context and where a door closes, a window or a bigger door opens, as the traditional saying goes. And it is true. There are ways to continue networking from home, even if an event has been cancelled from work. Today's technology is in our favor. As committee to navigators; first, it would be appropriate to get hold of the list of participants to the event, or even that the organization itself would provide it to the registered people -of course with the approval of all to avoid slips on the protection of data private- in order to promote this symbiosis and meeting. Then, we would select the professionals with whom we believe we may have more professional affinity, common interests... and contact them via e-mail -if they have been provided by the organization- or through LinkedIn looking for the person at search engine on the Internet. The next step, after a positive response, can be to meet a day at a specific time to have a Coffee&Meet, to get to know each other and open professional possibilities.

The pandemic is an obstacle, of course. But it cannot paralyze us or become the cause of our return to the darkness of the cave. We must keep on going out, looking for nourishment and finding alternatives -which there are- to continue celebrating, in another way, all the good things that happen to us.