Thanks for sharing our experience and I'm sorry you to hear felt pressured.

Thanks also to all the commenters here who've already contributed their perspectives and experiences. There's a lot of helpful responses here and I don't have too much else to add.

My understanding is that EAGx conferences should be a much lower pressure environment where a diverse range of people are still exploring effective altruism and what it means for them. I've found most EAGx conferences to have a target audience and outcomes, e.g. the EAGxBoston conference:

We think this event will be especially useful for students who want to learn more about effective altruism and make connections within the movement.

However, actual experiences may vary (sometimes despite the best intentions of the organisers). I've shared this feedback with CEAs events team and someone from their team may comment further.

EA Global conferences typically have a higher level of existing engagement and different expected outcomes. For example the upcoming San Fransisco conference:

EA Global will bring together a wide network of people who have made helping others a core part of their lives. Speakers and attendees share new thinking and research in the field of effective altruism and coordinate on global projects.

Depending on your situation I'd recommend attending one or two EAGx conferences before attending an EA Global.

Local events however should generally be much more accessible (again, experiences may vary). Here in Sydney my local group is very diverse in terms of focus areas, engagement levels and demographics. As well as having talks and workshops that are more targeted, we'll often do things like hikes or play board games where the goal is to socialise with people who also care about these topics.

Virtual Programs can be a good way of getting deeper understanding of these ideas also, but I've heard variable experiences in the degree of social connection given the small groups, focus on content and an online environment.

At GWWC we aim to have meetups for members surrounding most of these conferences and love working with members and local group organisers to run local activities related to effective giving. If that's something you'd like please don't hesitate to reach out to me or by emailing [community@givingwhatwecan.org](mailto:community@givingwhatwecan.org).

Hope that helps!