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Hosting a conference

Hosting a conference. Margit Böck Verena Gangle Ulla-Britt Persson. European Conference on Reading. Time and location is typically discussed at an IDEC meeting 2-2 ½ years in advance, applications have been made before.

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Hosting a conference

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  1. Hosting a conference Margit Böck VerenaGangle Ulla-Britt Persson

  2. European Conference on Reading • Time and location is typically discussed at an IDEC meeting 2-2 ½ years in advance, applications have been made before. • Final decision is taken so that time and venue can be announced at the conference 2 years ahead. • Early announcement on your own website as well as that of IDEC and FELA. • First and foremost: Form a group with reliable co-workers (incl. one who is responsible for your website). • Look for sponsors (lucky if one in the group is good at finding money). • Find a ‘catchy’ main theme for the conference and contact plenary speakers as early as possible (recommended: one local/national, one from Europe, one from the rest of the world) • A preliminary budget is to be presented to IDEC and approved at an early stage (consider local currency outside euro-zone).

  3. Early preparations (practical) Venue: • inexpensive (or free of charge) • as close as possible to public transport • accommodation facilities not too far away • access to one large room and smaller lecture rooms for parallel sessions • access to room for IDEC/FELA meetings before or after the conference • set up a (small) group that is responsible for the venue and has good contacts ‘on location’

  4. Early preparations (programme) • Set a deadline for submission of proposals and for letter of acceptance (8-9 months & 5-6 months before conference). • Inform speakers about deadline for registration for them to be included in the programme. • Decide what type of sessions that will be available; making the timetable is easier if there are less options. • Form a separate (small) group for dealing with the proposals. • A special e-mail address for this purpose is advisable. • Make sure that all proposals are collected in a special folder to which the whole programme group has access.

  5. Early preparations (registration) • It could be wise to contact a conference bureau or agency for managing registration, but make sure it is really professional. (This issue is debatable, give it a proper thought.) • Handling registration with transfer of international money is not easy, so find out what kind of deal the agency has with the bank (or what deal your association can get). • Hotel booking is done easily online, but a local agency knows the best options and might offer a good price (find out about prices and compare). • Think carefully about the information on the registration form. Make it clear that sending in a proposal is not the same as being registered!

  6. Programme (professional) • Do not allow more than one proposal per person. If people are in 2 or 3 sessions in different group constellations, making up the programme is very time consuming. • Decide on a format for the abstract to be stated on the registration form – it makes it easier when you are setting up the book of abstracts. • Try to limit the number of parallel sessions (also a debatable issue). • Ambition to arrange sessions according to subthemes is good but can be difficult to accomplish. • Ask IDEC members and colleagues to review the proposals before accepting. • Programme and abstracts can be printed in the same book. (It’s nice with a book but today some conference programmes are only published on the website).

  7. Programme (social) • Reception the first evening is the most important social event. People meet and get to know each other, it’s normally included in the registration fee – most delegates are present. • A central area at the venue is desirable, where coffee and refreshments are available; it becomes a natural meeting point. • If restaurants are close, no lunch arrangements are necessary. • Conference dinner and other social events are optional but nice, of course.

  8. Other points • Announce the conference on IRA website and in Reading Today. • Arrange for announcing the conference at IRA Annual Conference the year before the conference. • Keep continuous contact with IDEC chair and members who will be glad to assist (several have valuable experiences). • A ‘modus operandi’ is worked out by the Irish Reading Association, with a lot of useful ideas and details, which can be adapted to local circumstances. • Each conference will have its own national flavour!

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