Even when taking an optimistic outlook on the COVID situation, it is clear that by December, there will still be many places where travel to and from will be difficult if not impossible. Many conferences approach this problem by running in hybrid mode, with one main on-location event that people can also join remotely. Yet, experience shows that this often results in a "two-class society" where the people attending online feel left out and disconnected.
For this reason, we decided to "switch it around" and host the conference virtually, but encourage people to meet physically at various places, with the possibility to join the virtual activities together and complement them with the in-person experience that is lacking from virtual setups and that we are all missing so much. We therefore call out for individuals and institutions to host satellite events accompanying IEEE AIVR 2022.
Difficult times require new thinking and creative solutions, which is why a satellite event is not clearly defined but can be anything - ranging from a small informal gathering of people who meet physically and join the online activities of the conference together, up to a formally organised workshop or other event. We outline some possibilities below, but encourage you to get in touch with us proposing your own ideas. We are happy to hear them and eager to support you in making them happen!
The conference will likely start with workshops on day 1 (Mon, Dec 12, 2022) followed by the technical program with keynote speeches, paper presentations, posters, and demos on days 2&3 (pending final compilation of the program). To cope with the different time zones, sessions in the technical program will be a mix of live presentations and pre-recorded videos. This offers various options for hosting accompanying satellite events, some of which are outlined below. Further ideas and suggestions are welcome!
Informal gatherings. Hosts could organize small meeting hubs, for example, in metropolitan areas within easy reach of several regions, where people could just get together to join the online events on, for example, a big screen projection, plus the option to also give live presentations for people giving talks or showig demos at the conference. This should also provide good opportunities for local networking and socializing. Local speakers could also be invited to give guest talks at the conference, pending confirmation from the program committee and general chairs.
Workshop-style gatherings. The first day of the conference, which will very likely feature workshops on dedicated topics (see call for workshops), can be used to also host an on-location, physical workshop at a central area. Participants who are also presenting at the conference could use this to give their talks to the local audience and record them for later playback during the technical program at the main conference. Other participants can give presentations, too, and hosts can organize further interactive sessions, panels, or any other activities. Participants can then meet during days 2&3 to virtually attend the conference.
Pre-conference events. People are also encouraged to organize pre-conference events, such as workshops, open labs, or other scientific get-togethers, that are related to the topic and interest of the conference. Related activities can be recorded and played back at the conference or organizers can give summary presentations of them during the technial program (pending confirmation from the program committee and general chairs). Participants are able and encouraged to join the main conference online afterwards.
In order to encourage participation and be prepared for short-term changes that may be enforced by COVID regulations, we plan to keep the satellite events lightweight, that is, without requiring additional registrations and self-organized by the hosts and participants. If you are interested in hosting a satellite event related to IEEE AVIR 2022, either in the style outlined above or any alternative setting, please get in touch with us at your earliest convenience. Given the flexibility that may be needed due to upcoming COVID regulations, informal gatherings can be organized on a short notice up to 2-3 weeks before the conference. Events that have an impact on the conference organization need to be arranged sooner (e.g., to guarantee time slots for invited speakers in the program). Thus, potential hosts should contact us before the end of September (the final program will be compiled after the author notifications are sent out by early October). Organizers of workshops that may include publications in the proceedings should also keep the camera-ready deadline in mind (early November) and the required review and revision time.