Call for Conference Proposals - closed

COVID-19 PANDEMIC UPDATE [Aug 25, 2020]: The SARMAC Governing Board is pleased to announce that SARMAC XIV in Nagoya, Japan (2021) will be postponed until 27-30 July, 2022. After that, the next face-to-face meeting will take place in 2024. We are no longer soliciting conference proposals at this time. We will open the call for proposals for the 2024 meeting in June/July 2021. In the meantime, the Governing Board are working with members to plan SARMAC’s first virtual meeting which will be packed with the SARMAC sciencey goodness you are all craving! The virtual event will take place in 2021! Contact Dr Kim Wade, Executive Director (executivedirector@sarmac.org) if you have any queries or wish to join the mailing list. Be well and take care,

— The Governing Board.

The SARMAC Governing Board requests proposals to host the society's 2023 conference, SARMAC XV.  

Our biennial conference serves an international community of scholars, with recent meetings held in Rotterdam, Netherlands (2013), Victoria, Canada (2015), Sydney, Australia (2017) and Cape Cod, US (2019. The 2021 conference will take place from 21-24 July, 2021 in Nagoya, Japan.  

The Board is particularly keen for the 2023 conference to be held in Europe, but all bids will receive due consideration.

Unfortunately we cannot accept proposals from convention/tourism bureaus alone, as our conferences must be hosted by a team of SARMAC members who co-ordinate the conference on-site and prepare the academic program etc. We do, however, encourage SARMAC members to work collaboratively with local convention bureaus and tourism bodies to prepare a conference proposal. 
 
Proposals should include: 

  • The names of members (and their affiliations) who will host and coordinate the conference on-site. 

  • Proposed conference dates. The meeting is typically held in June or July of the conference year when the conference is in the northern hemisphere, and January when the conference is in the southern hemisphere.

  • A description of the proposed location to include the venue, meeting room capacities and the availability for plenary and parallel sessions, estimated travel costs between the conference venue and the worldwide regions that SARMAC members represent, estimated costs for a variety of local accommodation options, and possible tourism and social activities for attendees. 

  • Two or three options for a proposed conference budget to include costs associated with the venue/meeting room, rental of poster boards or audiovisual equipment, reception and/or coffee breaks, keynote speakers, etc. (Evening poster sessions may include the availability of beer/wine and other beverages which can be purchased by individual delegates at their expense. Note that if alcohol is available, there should be suitable food provided at no charge.) Costs in currencies other than USD should include estimated USD equivalent for each line item.

  • Proposed registration fees—and how those fees might vary with each option for the conference budget—and any in-kind or seed funding that might be offered by a host university and/or other organisations to support the meeting should also be included.   

The SARMAC Governing Board and Executive Officers provide practical support (e.g., the website) and guidance for the conference organizing team (we even have a “How to host a SARMAC meeting” guide and can provide previous proposals to help as you prepare your own!). Requests for financial support for specific organizational costs will also be considered.

Proposals should be sent to Kim Wade, Executive Director of SARMAC, at executivedirector@sarmac.org.