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Organisation
of Annual Conference
Notes for the President and
Organising Committee
International conferences take considerable planning, effort
and time. The European Prosthodontic Association is grateful
to the President and their organising committees for this
work and it is the aim of the Honorary Secretary, Treasurer
and Editor to assist as much as possible. This document
is provided as a guide for conference organisation, but
is not meant to be prescriptive or restrictive.
In order to allow ample time for planning, Council will
accept nominations for future Presidents and conference
venues up to four years in advance. The nomination of the
President elect usually precedes the selection of conference
venue although the two are closely linked. It is expected
that the President will have the support of the National
Prosthodontic Association or similar organisation. Following
the acceptance of the nomination by Council, provisional
arrangements and bookings may be made, but it is suggested
that confirmation of these bookings is only made after election
of the future President as Second President Elect at the
Annual Business Meeting three years preceding the date of
the proposed conference.
The Honorary Secretary will provide advice to the organising
committee at any stage and it is usual for him/her to visit
the President elect and the conference venues to confirm
the suitability of the arrangements eighteen months prior
to the conference (usually the Spring of the preceding year).
The President may nominate an Organising
Committee to assist. The President may wish to appoint a
Conference Secretary and/or Treasurer. The organisation
of the conference will involve arrangement of programme
themes; consideration of guest or keynote speakers and general
balance of papers offered as between those of practical/clinical
interest and those of scientific or research interest; provision
of projection and other facilities; appointment of Chairpersons
for sessions (guidance for Chairpersons is available as
a link in the left hand column on this web-page); invitations
to the dental trade to provide exhibits at the Conference;
arrangements for the Conference Dinner (menu, wines, toasts
and after-dinner speakers as necessary); any additional
social programme.
The official language of the conference is English. It is
not acceptable to have scientific sessions in any other
language - not even that of the host country. For this reason
it may be necessary to arrange simultaneous translation,
especially for the keynote presentations and at least in
the main lecture theatre. It is not acceptable to have non-simultaneous
translation.
Planning the Conference
Both a Conference centre and residential accommodation are
required. A University-type campus has many advantages for
this purpose since it combines a suitable academic environment
with cheap residential charges. A Conference hotel may provide
complete and compact lecture theatres, exhibition areas
and accommodation, but special rates must be negotiated
to keep costs reasonable. To suit a range of delegates alternative
accommodation of different standards and costs is desirable.
It is advisable to seek to insure against strikes, cancellation
or other catastrophe as deposits etc. are often non-returnable
and the EPA does not have the funds to underwrite any conference
failures. If an interest free loan is required to help start-up
the organising and advertising, the Honorary Treasurer may,
if funds allow, be able to provide such assistance up to
a limit of €1000 with a guarantee that this loan will
be repaid as soon as possible.
The Conference centre should ideally have residential accommodation,
dining facilities and lecture theatres on one site. If this
is not so, suitable transport for delegates will have to
be arranged. A room will be necessary for Council and Trustee
meetings. A Conference office may be necessary, a Conference
notice board and the arrangements for registration of members
should be considered. There also needs to be available a
suitable hall to accommodate any trade exhibition and the
poster presentations. Trade exhibitions are encouraged because
the income from sponsorship helps to reduce the conference
fee. Other sponsorship, e.g. government, tourism, university,
hospital, industry, as well as the dental trade should be
sought.
As well as the scientific programme, a social programme
and accompanying persons programme should be organised.
This will usually include an informal welcome party on the
evening before the conference opens, an official reception
on the first evening of the conference, and the conference
dinner on the second evening. An informal event may also
be arranged for the last evening after the conference has
closed. Post-conference tours may be suggested but ideally
organisation of these should be left to individuals through
a recommended travel company.
Time must be allowed for the Trustees and Council meetings,
usually the afternoon of the day before the opening of the
conference. These details must be sent to the Honorary Secretary
early to allow communication of time and venue to the Trustees
and Council Members as they may have to book earlier flights
for travel. The Annual Business Meeting must be included
in the conference programme at a convenient time and location
to allow all members to attend. There should not be any
parallel scientific sessions or other distractions whilst
the ABM is being held.
The President Elect should liaise with
the Honorary Secretary over the preliminary notification
of the intended Conference at the pre-conference visit to
the conference venue. The President Elect will then make
a presentation of the details of their conference to Council
and then at the Annual Business Meeting at the preceding
conference (one year in advance). The new conference web
site can then go live immediately after the close of the
present conference.
It is recommended that a leaflet advertising
the conference is also sent by the President to all the
EPA membership by post. This leaflet should give preliminary
notification of the conference web site, main theme of the
scientific programme, the keynote speakers, the dates, venue
and arrangements for accommodation, social programme, and
accompanying persons programme. An invitation for free communications
and poster demonstrations can also made at this time and
a contact addresses given for interested persons to seek
further details.
Conference
web site
Ideally, all registrations for delegates
should be facilitated via the conference web site.
The conference web site should contain:
Home page including: conference announcement,
welcome, conference details,conference themes, links to
other pages, photograph of President. EPA logo
Venue for conference, ease of access, discounted
travel arrangements (if any)
Guest speakers, including the Oxford Lecturer
Delegate on-line registration form
Accommodation on-line registration form
Instructions for submission of an abstract plus on-line
abstract form (IADR style)
EPA Oral Presentation Prize, sponsored by Dentsply, regulations
EPA Poster Award sponsored by Quintessence regulations,
Rowland Fereday Research Fellowship
Sydney Barratt Travel Grant
EPA Membership Application form
Tourist information, maps etc..
However, it is advisable to include a downloadable
postal registration form for those delegates who may not
be able to register on-line. Every effort should be made
to advertise the conference widely, for example in national
and international journals. The President Elect may also
want to mail conference details and registration forms to
the membership and other potential delegates.
Scientific Programme
It is suggested that the scientific programme should
extend over a maximum of three days, preferable two and
a half days, Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning, although
other days may be considered. The Conference normally takes
place in early September although some variation is possible
to allow for local conditions.
The following format for the scientific
programme is recommended:
1) An invited key-note speaker with an international reputation
may start each session (plenary session) speaking on a subject
of interest to EPA members, prosthodontists and general
dental practitioners. This will increase attendance at the
Conference. These lectures will normally be of 45 minutes
duration. The first Keynote speaker of the conference is
denominated the "Oxford Lecturer" and gives the
main keynote lecture of the conference which may be up to
one hour in duration. The responsibility for the choice
of a suitable Oxford Lecturer each year lies with the President
elect who is organising the relevant conference. However,
this choice should be presented to the Board of Trustees,
together with a short curriculum vitae of the proposed lecturer,
at their meeting two years prior to the conference for information
and approval.
Question time should be allowed even
after key note papers, but not after the Oxford lecture.
2) The duration of each free communication is 10 minutes
maximum, followed by 5 minutes discussion. Punctual time
keeping is essential.
3) The duration of each free communication session should
be one and a half hours maximum (6 free communications).
4) Two parallel free communication sessions are acceptable,
but only in exceptional circumstances may more than two
sessions be programmed.
5) Poster presentations may be on display throughout the
Conference but presenters should be on station at a defined
time each day (or on one day). In addition a session may
be organised at which each presenter is allowed 2 minutes
to explain the poster, followed by a short discussion. If
there is an excess of oral presentations offered, some members
may agree to present their material as poster presentations.
The poster presentations by members may be combined with
the trade exhibition.
6) When the final list of speakers is agreed, the President
should send a copy of the Programme and the names and addresses
of all the speakers to the editor. The editor should also
be notified of any alterations. The editor will later require
from the President, a photograph, the name and correct title
of any official speakers at the opening of the conference,
and copies of the abstracts of the conference presentations
(preferably on disc), so that these can be published in
the Proceedings of the Conference.
7) On registration a folder should be given to every delegate
attending, containing the final programme, abstracts of
papers and a list of delegates attending the conference.
A name badge should be issued with the title, name of country
and institution of the delegate. Name badges should also
be provided for accompanying persons. Local signposting
on the roads may be necessary to assist delegates.
Conference Finances
Conference finance planning isthe concern of the President
and the local organising committee. If the conference is
being held in conjunction with a National Prosthodontic
(or Dental) Association then they must also assume responsibility
for conference finances, The Secretariat of the EPA should
be kept informed. The following recommendations are made:-
1) Conference (registration) fee should be kept as low as
possible (consult with Secretary). It should include mid-morning
and afternoon refreshments and other minor items, but not
major items which would raise the fee to an unacceptable
level.
2) Conference dinner (gala dinner, banquet) is the main
social event. Keep cost as low as possible.
3) The budget for the Conference will need to take into
consideration:-
i) Residential charges and meals. ii) Any extra charges
for mid-morning and afternoon refreshments. iii) Conference
dinner, including wines and flowers. iv) Any guest charges
undertaken by the Conference. vi) Cost of stationary, postage
and printing, vii) Any extra costs for the use of the lecture
theatre, other rooms, projectionist and projection equipment.
viii) Signposting. ix) Traveling expenses incurred in the
Conference organisation. x) Gratuities. xi) Any entertainment
expenses.
It is expected that the winner of the
Rowland Fereday Research Award will be allowed free delegate
registration to the conference and any opening ceremonies
(but not to free accommodation or the gala dinner).
4) EPA donation from Conference Fees
It has been agreed by Council that a donation towards EPA
funds should be made from the proceeds of each conference.
The delegate registration fee, computed by the Conference
Organising Committee, should be increased by 5% for all
delegates. As soon as possible after the end of the conference,
once the conference finances have been settled, a minimum
of 10 €uros per EPA member attending conference should
be paid to the European Prosthodontic Trust. The Conference
Organising Committee should be given adequate notice by
the Honorary Secretary (preferably in writing) about this
agreement.
In addition, if considerable profits are generated by the
EPA Conference the EPA would welcome a larger donation.
The EPA is not responsible for any loss
incurred as a result of the EPA Annual Conference. It is
the duty of the local organising committee to guarantee
that a loss does not occur.
If transfer of moneys from host country to European Prosthodontic
Trust is impossible, alternative financial arrangements
must be made; for example, printing, postage etc. (discuss
with Honorary Secretary).
5) Non members Registration Fee.
This fee is payable by professional non-members attending
the Scientific Programme.
Accompanying persons, attending only for social reasons
may pay a small fee (discuss with Honorary Secretary).
6) At the conclusion of the Conference when all the final
transactions have been completed the Conference Treasurer
should prepare a "Statement of EPA Income and Expenditure"
and this account should be audited. One copy should be sent
to the Honorary Secretary for inclusion in the Conference
records and a second copy sent to the Honorary Treasurer
together with a banker's draft equal to 10 €uros per
EPA member delegate, plus an agreed proportion of overall
profits if relevant.
The organising Committee should give the Honorary Secretary
a list of attending EPA members.
At the Conference
1. Before
i) Where necessary place signs in appropriate places, "Registration",
"Bar", "Lecture theatre", etc.
ii) Check there are no-last minute cancellations or modifications
to the Programme.
iii) Set up any instructions on the notice board.
iv) Inspect lecture theatre, lighting, dimming, chalk and
blackboard, pointers, projection control (projectionist
should be on duty during whole of conference to ensure that
any breakdowns are dealt with promptly), microphone, blackout
arrangements, ventilation, seating, cloakrooms, toilets,
telephones, emergency exits, area for tea/coffee etc.
iv) Arrange suitable room for Trustee and
Council meetings (maximum 20 persons, electric power, refreshments).
2. First Day
Check the projectionist has arrived, microphone is live
and all projection equipment is in working order. Make sure
there is clean water and a glass on the rostrum.
At the official opening it is normal for a local person
of standing welcomes the EPA to the university or conference
city/venue. The President welcomes the delegates to his/her
conference and the Honorary Secretary may also speak on
behalf of the EPA members.
3. Business Meeting
Requires chairs at rostrum, copies of agenda, accounts etc.
4. Final Day
End of Conference:- Announce how taxis may be booked and
emphasise that room keys must be returned. Honorary Secretary
usually speaks at closing ceremony to thank President and
his organising committee for all their hard work. Also thanks
projectionist, translators, registration and other helpers
for their services.
President formally hands over office to incoming President.
Incoming President thanks outgoing President, congratulates
him on his successful Conference and notifies members to
show their appreciation. President looks forward to a conference
next year and invites all members to attend.
5. Abstracts
The scientific abstracts from the conference
must be given to the Honorary Secretary either on computer
disk or in the form of a computer file for publication on
the EPA web-site. An extra hard copy of the conference abstract
booklet should also be given to the hionoirary Secretary
for the archive.
Summary
1. Venue: Preferably educational institute
e.g. College, University etc. (perhaps if conference hotel,
negotiate special rates) Insure against strikes, cancellations
etc.
2. Local organisation: Secretarial assistance, printing,
postage.
3. Advertising: Locally, nationally, internationally.
4. Information for visitors: Tourist literature.
5. Accommodation: Range of prices, special rates.
6. Meals: At Conference centre. Members must be informed
of cost and availability of drinks, snacks and meals.
7. Projection facilities: Projectors, projectionists and
engineers.
8. Conference rooms: Space, size etc.
9. Registration fee: Add 5% which will be transferred to
European Prosthodontic Trust.
10. Funding: Government, Tourism, University, Hospital,
Industry, Dental Trade. 11. Conference themes
12. Scientific programme: Official opening: speeches. Duration
of free communications. Intervals.
13. Invited speakers: International reputation. maximum
duration 45 minutes (except 'Oxford' lecture).
14. Conference literature: Final programme, abstracts etc.
15. Chairpersons: One English speaking, one host country
speaking. Guidance for chairpersons is available from the
secretary.
16. Trade demonstration
17. Poster displays
18. Simultaneous translation
19. Social programme:
(a) Accompanying persons (b) Conference Dinner/Banquet.
Guests. (c) Reception/cocktails (d) National entertainment.
20. Annual business meeting: Preferably a.m. on the second
day.
21. Council meeting; Trustees meeting: Usually on afternoon
preceding opening of conference.
22. Post-conference tours.
Richard D Welfare Honorary Secretary
03rd October 1999
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