Frequently Asked Questions
General
RootsTech is a global family history event where people of all ages learn to discover, share, and celebrate their family connections across generations through technology. At RootsTech, there is something for everyone, no matter your experience in family history or your skill level in technology.
RootsTech Connect will be held February 25–27, 2021, online at RootsTech.org. This will be our first all-virtual conference.
RootsTech 2022 will be held March 9–12, 2022, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
RootsTech 2023 will be held March 1–4, 2023, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
RootsTech 2024 will be held February 28–March 2, 2024, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
RootsTech 2025 will be held February 26–March 1, 2025, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Sponsorship opportunities are also available for RootsTech Connect 2021. For more information or to ask questions, please email us at exhibitor@rootstech.org.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for evening events, keynote sessions, tech lounges, presentation tracks, and more. For more information on RootsTech Connect 2021 sponsorship opportunities, please email us at exhibitor@rootstech.org.
FamilySearch International is the hosting organization of RootsTech.
Yes, the entire 2021 conference will be streamed online, and most content will be available on our site until the 2022 event.
We are excited to share that in 2021 RootsTech Connect will be available in 11 languages. You will be able to watch the mainstage in your choice of English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, or Cantonese.
We will also have classes presented directly in these languages as well and a few additional languages.
Many classes will also have auto translation capabilities through online tools so you can watch sessions outside of your preferred languages.
Most sessions of RootsTech Connect will be available to watch after the conference. Select sessions will be available to download.
One of the best parts of an entirely virtual event is that everyone is invited. We will have a few activities and events geared especially to young people. We will be posting these here on RootsTech.org in the coming weeks.
Family Discovery Day will be a part of RootsTech Connect just like our events in Salt Lake City and London. There will be classes, activities, and a devotional for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We encourage you to watch and participate in this event as a family.
RootsTech Connect will have something for all ages. Please feel free to share content during our event and after with the children in your life, and share with us how they like what they have seen.
Event
We like to keep things simple. You will be able to access everything for RootsTech Connect from our website www.rootstech.org when the conference goes live. You do not need to download any extra apps or programs, just visit our site and we will help you from there.
We are delighted to share that RootsTech Connect is designed to work with your schedule. We will start streaming live at 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on February 24th (It is morning on the 25th in most of the world at that time) and follow the sun around the globe for the next 72 hours. You can join in at anytime that is convenient for you. Stop and take a rest when you need to and start again. Class sessions will all be available on demand, and accessible at any time during the event. In fact, they will be available for at least 11 months after the conference ends. The mainstage sessions will play as detailed below and then be available on demand after the event is over. View the main stage streaming schedule here.
We have great news, your RootsTech Connect registration and your FamilySearch.org account are all you need to join every class you want to attend. All classes will play on our website and there are no limits to who can watch. They are all on demand so you can watch them at whatever time you want and then chat with others who have taken the class in the connected chatroom if you want to. When you are signed in with your FamilySearch account, you will be able to create a playlist too and keep track of which classes are most important to you.
You can see a list of all of our English language classes here. Don’t forget to check out some of our classes in other languages too. Through the miracles of technology, you will be able to turn on auto translation captioning on for classes from our other languages and homelands to help you find and connect with more of your ancestors.
We are excited to share that in 2021 RootsTech Connect will be available in 11 languages. You will be able to watch the mainstage in your choice of: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese.
We will also have classes presented directly in these languages as well and a few additional languages.
Many classes will also have auto translation capabilities through online tools so you can watch sessions outside of your preferred languages.
RootsTech Connect is dedicated to connecting families past, present and future, and we believe that ultimately, we are all one big family. Accordingly, please contribute to our family in a way that respects and lifts everyone participating regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, experience, or religion (or lack thereof). Kindness and inclusiveness are expected, and harassment of others will not be tolerated. Please treat other attendees here like your favorite family member and we will do the same for you.
You also agree that family photos are acceptable and will allow RootsTech Connect to share images you share with us and comments in social media, press and other forms of communication about the event.
Read the RootsTech Code of Conduct here.
The only equipment you will need is a computer or mobile device and access to the internet. Cameras, microphones or other specialized equipment is not needed to join in.
We would love for you to register, so we can give you up to the minute information about the event.
You do not have to create a RootsTech account, but during the event if you want to use customization features and make connections with other attendees, you will need to sign in using your FamilySearch account. Free familysearch.org accounts can be created here.
Yes, we will close-caption all of the recorded content.
Registration
We are pleased to let you know that we are offering our most affordable pass ever at RootsTech Connect. Registration will be free of charge this year. It is our gift to you in these difficult times.
Registration is very simple. Just complete the short form on the main page of RootsTech.org, or look for the pink speech bubble in the bottom right side of the screen and our cute robot will help you. Click on him, and when he asks, let him know you want to register. He will ask for your name and email address. If you run into any difficulties, we are happy to help you at info@rootstech.org.
We recommend registering with separate email addresses if possible so that we can get an accurate count of people who plan on watching the event. However, if you have only one joint email address to register with, that is acceptable.
Classes
We’re busy working on the full conference schedule for RootsTech Connect. When it’s available, you’ll be able to view it on our website and start planning which classes you want to see. When our website is live, you’ll have the ability to add certain classes to your individual “playlist.”
Each class that you view during RootsTech Connect will have a syllabus attached that you’ll be able to view and download at your convenience.
Add RootsTech Connect to your calendar:
