Call for symposia: International Ornithological Congress due 1 May 2016

[Fern Davies]

International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) Call for Symposia Proposals

The 27th International Ornithological Congress (IOCongress2018) will be held in Vancouver, Canada, 19-26th August 2018.

The Scientific Program Committee (SPC) invites you to submit a symposium proposal for this Congress. Symposia are aimed at the general ornithologist and provide up-to-date coverage of current ornithological research.

As in previous Congresses, each symposium will include two keynote addresses and three oral presentations. One of the keynote addresses ought to summarize the global progress of ornithological science in the field over the last four years and address priorities for future research. The three oral presentations will be selected by the symposium co-conveners from abstracts that have been submitted for consideration to their symposium (the call for contributed paper will be sent out in early 2017). In case none of the submitted abstracts are deemed appropriate, the co-conveners may invite speakers to their symposium.

Each symposium should be planned and organized by two co-conveners from different countries and, preferably, different continents. The co-conveners may serve as keynote speakers or may invite keynote speakers. Co-conveners may organize only one symposium at a Congress. As a general rule, each Congress participant may speak only once (i.e., either at a symposium or at an oral session, but there are no restrictions to the number of posters or Round-Table Discussions a Congress participant may present or organize, respectively.

Proposals for symposia must provide the information listed below, be submitted on the conference website (iocongress2018.com) and must be received on or before 1 May 2016. For questions, please contact Kate Buchanan (IOCongress2018SPC@deakin.edu.au).

Instructions for the preparation of symposium proposals:

• Title of the symposium
• Names, institutional affiliation, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and web page addresses of the co-organizers
• Objectives, significance, timeliness, interest and appropriateness for a Congress symposium (600 words maximum).
• Names, institutional affiliation, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and web page addresses of the two keynote speakers.
• Titles and summary of the contributions of the keynote speakers.

The symposium co-conveners will be notified of the receipt of their proposal. The proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by the members of the multidisciplinary SPC. The final acceptance, with possible modifications, will be decided at the meeting of the SPC in August 2016, and the co-conveners will be notified shortly thereafter. Once a proposal has been accepted, abstracts of the symposium and keynote contributions will be posted on the IOCongress2018 website. At the same time, a call for abstracts for contributed papers (i.e., symposium contributions, contributions for an oral session, or posters) will be posted. Please note, that the registration fee is due in full at the time of the submission of any abstract.

 

By submitting a proposal for a symposium, the co-conveners and keynote speakers are making a firm commitment to attend the Congress in Vancouver. Failure to attend the Congress without extenuating reasons and without providing replacement speakers may lead to a bar to contribute at the next Congress in 2022. The IOCongress2018 is unable to provide any financial assistance to symposium co-conveners or contributors. Students and participants from low-income countries, however, will have the opportunity to apply for travel support through the IOCongress2018 web page.

 

Publications:
The abstracts of all contributions will be published on-line and possibly as a supplement to a regular ornithological journal. The keynote speakers are invited to submit manuscripts of their contributions to the Congress Proceedings, which will published within a year of the IOCongress2018.

 

For more information on IOCongress2018, please contact the Congress Convener, Dr. Robert W. Elner, by e-mail (rwelner@sfu.ca)

 

We look forward to seeing you in Vancouver!

 

Kate Buchanan, Chair, Scientific Program Committee