Abstract: These multimedia conferencing apparatus and method manage asymmetrical public and/or private conferences. A conference takes place between an external transceiver and at least a local transceiver; local transceivers may take part to a plurality of conferences simultaneously. The apparatus comprises a communication interface connected to a packet data communication network in order to send and receive multimedia signals to and from the transceivers. A conference managing means is operable to determine, for each transceiver, which of the incoming multimedia signals received from the other transceivers are accessible to said transceiver, based on a transceiver's state and on data characterising the existing conferences, said state indicating whether said transceiver is participating to a private conference or to a public conference.