2020 Summit Suspended. What That Means

Summit wait list Planning for the 2020 Science Events Summit is suspended. What does that mean? Plans for the 2020 Summit have been in the works for over a year. Five grant-funded projects were planning to use the 2020 Summit as a culminating moment, with meetings, workshops, and working groups. Similarly, plans for an involved conference program were already underway, with several of the larger sessions sketched out. As in any typical year, continuing to solidify these plans will require significant work over the next two months. That work depends on advance commitments from the many session and workshop leaders involved. We cannot, in good faith, ask these leaders to commit to attend the 2020 Summit during this uncertain time, so it will not be possible to carry out many of these plans. However, the Summit has already booked some great venues for meetings and lodging. There is no benefit to cancelling these contracts until the end of April. There is an outside chance that it will be safe to travel and gather by that time. If that turns out to be the case and there is sufficient interest, we will reopen paid registration for the Summit and offer a scaled back get together from May 31 to June 2 that emphasizes peer-to-peer networking in an unconference format. Or maybe just the chance to reconnect with other event organizers that have also been trying to make sense of things. If you would like to be added to the wait list for the 2020 Summit, please register for free now. You will be contacted in late April when a determination is made. This decision will be made and communicated with sufficient time for those on the wait list to make use of the Summit's hotel booking. If you have already paid for Summit registration you will receive a more detailed email by March 18. If you have not received that email, please contact Science Festival Alliance staff.