COLING’2020 is going entirely virtual!
The pandemic has thrown a curveball in our planning for COLING’2020, especially since opportunities for personal interaction and serendipitous research hook-ups are such an essential feature of all COLING conferences. Indeed, a survey that we conducted showed that over 66% of those who submitted papers would choose, if possible, to attend an in-person meeting in Barcelona. So, for the last few months, we have been busy planning for a ‘hybrid’ meeting, with a somewhat smaller in-person provision combined with significant virtual participation. However, Barcelona, Spain, much of Europe and several other countries are already experiencing a second spike in COVID’19 cases – and this is just August! So the prospect for much in-person participation in the Autumn, with even only local/Spanish/European colleagues, is looking very grim indeed. We are therefore shifting our planning towards a fully-virtual conference. The dates, of course, will remain the same.
While our PC is now working hard on an exciting intellectual programme based on the excellent submissions that we have received, the rest of the team is working hard to produce an exciting and innovative and socially-enriching conference experience in the virtual sphere. Some months ago, Paul Piwek, Lluís Padró Cirera, and Luis Espinosa Anke joined our organisation team to work on the plans and infrastructure for our virtual provision. We are now expanding the team to include others with experience/interest in virtual conferences. If you are interested, please let us know!
An entirely virtual COLING’2020 will be a new experience for us, and we want it to be a hugely successful one for you too. Change brings new opportunities, and we welcome your ideas and involvement in this exciting new venture.
Have ideas about our virtual format? Email coling2020.virtual.soapbox@gmail.com
Want to help with our virtual provision? Email coling2020.virtual.general@gmail.com