We
welcome Special Session submissions! This call will close on 31 October 2024.
You can submit your contribution here: https://www.conftool.pro/isee-degrowth2025/
Please read the information below carefully before you make your submission.
A session
is a meeting held during a time slot in a physical place, together with other conference
participants. Sessions can have different formats, as described in some detail
below. Each session will have a chair who is responsible for the
session.
Parallel
sessions will be held during the same time slot of 1.5 hours (90 minutes). Special Sessions will
be carried out during the parallel session slots.
Any
person can submit a proposal for organizing a Special Session. The Special
Sessions aim to give space for content with a unique topic and format, and/or
groups of people who want to present the progress or results of a specific
project or creative contribution. These sessions can align with any of the 10
predefined thematic tracks and sub-themes,
or they may also bring in new themes – as long as they align with the
conference's overall main theme: Building socially just postgrowth
futures – linking theory and action.
A Special
Session can be either “open” or “closed”:
Open Special
Sessions are
sessions of which the general framing is defined by the session proposer
and organizer. These sessions will be open to the participation of any
applicant during the “call for abstracts” period that opens by early December.
Closed Special
Sessions are organized
within the context of a specific project that aligns with the overall
theme of the conference. Presenting in a closed session is by invitation
only, as presenters are determined by the session proposers and
organizers.
All
applicants proposing an Open Special Session or a Closed Special Session must
indicate whether their proposed session fit within either the "Conventional" format or the “Free format".
- A conventional session is a
classical, academic panel session, in which 3-4 presenters share from
their analytical work, and receive feedback and questions from each other
and the audience.
- A free format session is a
session that differ from the conventional panel format. These sessions may
provide artistic and interactive avenues to learn, debate, and co-create
in transdisciplinary manners, such as artistic performances, workshops,
debates or panel discussions, or presentations of books or films. We also
invite submissions of artworks which will be considered for live and/or
virtual exhibition and/or performance during the conference.
We also welcome proposals for hybrid Special Sessions of different formats, as long as the organizer(s) of the session will be physically present at the conference.
SUBMISSION
INFORMATION
Proposals
for Special Sessions must be submitted through the submission platform by 31 October, 2024. To be accepted for evaluation, each proposal must include the
following information:
- Type of Special Session: Open/Closed.
- Format of the Special Session, as outlined in
the submission form.
- Organizers: full name, organization (if any), and
e-mail.
- Title for the proposed session.
- Abstract that provides a clear description (up
to 700 words) of the proposed session, including (but not limited to): i)
general presentation of the session, ii) relevance to the conference
theme, iii) format of the session, and iv) background of the session
organizer(s). Please also describe in detail any specific logistical needs
such as i) type of venue/ space requirements, ii) equipment, iii) ideal
number of presenters, iv) the optimum duration (up to 90 minutes for each individual session), and v) any
other relevant information for the appropriate development of the session.
For interactive sessions, please include an explanation of what audience
participation may involve. (Note that while the main language of the conference is English, it is also possible to propose to organize Special Sessions in other broadly used languages).
- Thematic tracks: a selection of 1-2 themes that best suits
your submission. Your submission does not necessarily need to relate to
any of the predefined tracks of the conference. If this is the case, you
can specify the most relevant theme/ track under "Other". Make
sure to clearly state the relevance of your contribution to the following
overall conference themes: Ecological Economics, Degrowth, "Building
socially just postgrowth futures - linking theory and action".
- Keywords: Add a minimum of 3, and a maximum of 5
keywords, related to your proposed Special Session.
EVALUATION OF
SPECIAL SESSIONS
Proposals
will be evaluated by the Local Organizing Committee and the Scientific Advisory
Committee, according to the following criteria:
Thematic relevance and relation to
the overall theme of the conference.
Quality of the proposal.
Clarity of presentation.
Originality and creativity.
Academic quality (only relevant to academic contributions).
Note
that the approval of a Special Session after review does not guarantee its
final inclusion in the program. Contributions submitted to Open Special Sessions
during the abstract call, which will be launched by December, will undergo review similar to that for
regular sessions. For an Open Special Session to be organized at the conference,
it must include at least 3 approved contributions/ abstract presentations, or the minimum number
indicated in the Special Session submission. If an Open Special Session does
not reach the minimum number of approved contributions, or does not cover a
full session slot, the conference organizing team may decide whether to cancel
the session or merge it with another related session.
RESPONSIBILITIES
OF SPECIAL SESSION ORGANIZERS
Organizers
will be responsible for their session, always working in cooperation with the
conference organizers. Some of the organizers’ tasks include:
Participating in revising and
evaluating the contributions submitted for their session (Open Special Sessions
only).
Chairing the session or naming a chair.
Giving support to the participants of
the session and helping to address any questions or difficulties that may
arise.
Ensuring that participants are aware of,
and follow, the sessions objectives and rules.
Any other issues directly related to
their session.
