conference

thumb|Artist Aleksandr Moravov's Tampere conference of 1905|"Tampere Conference of 1905", depicting the first conference of the [[Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in Tampere and notably, the first-time meeting of Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin.]] A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, is the primary purpose of conferences. The term derives from the word confer.

== History == The first known use of "conference" appears in 1527, meaning "a meeting of two or more persons for discussing matters of common concern". It came from the word confer, which means "to compare views or take counsel". However the idea of a conference far predates the word. Arguably, as long as there have been people, there have been meetings and discussions between people. Evidence of ancient forms of conference can be seen in archaeological ruins of common areas where people would gather to discuss shared interests such as "hunting plans, wartime activities, negotiations for peace or the organisation of tribal celebrations".