INFORMATION FOR SELECTED
WORLD ASSEMBLY AND CONFERENCE COMMITTEES
Congratulations on the selection of your country to host an upcoming World Assembly and Conference.
This document is meant to guide you in your preparation and execution of the event. Your regional
Vice President will serve as your liaison with the World Executive Committee.
Within one month of receiving this document, the National President must submit to the World
President, President-elect (if applicable) and Regional Vice President as much information as possible
about the following critical aspects of conference planning and implementation. The National President
or the Conference Committee Chair must then submit monthly updates to the information requested on
this form. NOTE: This document is for informational and planning purposes only. The information is
subject to change. Your conference contract serves as the official agreement between the host country
national committee and World OMEP.
LOCATION AND DATES
World Assembly and Conference Location:
World Assembly and Conference Dates (See below for typical schedule*) ___________ to __________
NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND CONFERENCE COMMITTEE
Last Name
First Name
Position
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
phone
email
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Last Name
First Name
Position
Chair
Co-chair
Program
Scientific
Website
Hospitality
Interpreters
hotels
Office
Students
phone
email
PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE PLANNING COMPANY:
Name and contact information:
WEBSITE
Anticipated date for the conference website to become active:
VENUES
Venues
1. Space large enough for general sessions (maximum number?)
2. Spaces for parallel sessions (invited sessions, seminars, workshops, posters)
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Please list the keynote speakers under consideration. Keynote speakers must be approved by the World
OMEP Executive Committee. They should represent OMEP's geographic and linguistic diversity.
Keynote speakers can be a "big draw" for your conference, so think about potential speakers who are
internationally known.
PROGRAM
Conference schedule overview: schedule for general sessions, parallel sessions, etc. (Reviewing recent
conference programs can be helpful here.)
REGISTRATION: Registration fees and deadlines
Type
Early Bird
Full conference after early bird
One Day
Deadline
Amount in US dollars
Payment methods (on line? Paypal? On site? )
NOTE: $10 of each regular registration goes to World OMEP. See contract for information about
other registration types.
PRESENTATION PROPOSAL AND SELECTION PROCESS:
Note: Call for Proposals must be in all three official OMEP languages: English, French, and Spanish.
Deadlines for presentation proposals:
Scientific Selection Committee process:
Deadline for notifying decisions. (This must be coordinated with registration deadlines. Many people wait to
find out if their proposals have been accepted before the register for the conference.)
ASSISTANCE NEEDED FROM WORLD OMEP AND/OR REGIONAL VP
FURTHER INFORMATION
SPEAKERS
Keynotes: Please request that keynote speakers presenting in French or Spanish include some English
translations on their slides. Please suggest that they could use one color for the French or Spanish and
another for English.
Keynotes should be no longer than 30 – 45 minutes. There should be ample time for questions and
discussions.
Keynote and other speakers: Many keynoters and session presenters have far too much text on the slides.
Please recommend that they limit the amount of text. Consider providing samples of slides with
appropriate amounts of text, correctly sized fonts, and easily readable colors.
For the Saturday closing session, ExCO recommends only one keynote, the World President’s closing
remarks, and the transfer ceremony to the next WA and Conference hosts.
The host country typically pays transportation and lodging for keynote speakers for general sessions
and, sometimes, also for speakers for invited and featured sessions. Registration fees are typically
waived for these speakers and the World President.
INTERPRETERS/TRANSLATORS
Professional translation in English, French, and Spanish is required for both days of the World
Assembly. Professional translation is also required for general sessions and keynote speeches. (Host
countries may also wish to have translation into the national language.)
Professional conference planning companies can sometimes arrange for translation, including equipment
and personnel.
PARALLEL SESSIONS (BREAKOUT SESSIONS)
Have a plan for posting the cancelled session list.
Each parallel session needs to have a chair (or moderator) as well as a timekeeper so everyone has a
chance to present within the time limit.
Definitions of session types: ExCO has been striving for clear and consistent definitions of the various
kinds of sessions. Please use these definitions as you plan your conference:
SESSIONS FOR ALL ATTENDEES
General Session: Session with a keynote speaker and room available for all participants to attend. At
a minimum your conference should have an opening and a closing general session. Most conferences
also have one general session per day. The opening and closing session often include some
entertainment typical (not stereotypical) of the host country and frequently feature performances by
children.
SESSIONS FOR LARGE AUDIENCES (but not all attendees)
Invited presentations (sometimes called “invited symposia” depending on format and content). The
Conference Committee, often in collaboration with the World President, can invite a few people to
present without going through the usual proposal process. Examples include presentations by people
who are making keynote speeches at the conference, leaders of current OMEP projects, and
representatives of major organizations with whom OMEP has (or wishes to develop) strong ties, such
as UNICEF, World Bank, and UNESCO.
Featured Session: These sessions feature well known speakers and/or popular topics. The venue
might be smaller than for a general session, but it should be larger than the typical breakout session.
PARALLEL (OR BREAK OUT) SESSIONS.
Paper presentations – individual academic oral presentations (often with Powerpoints). Most often
these focus on research, but practical work, special projects, and advocacy work can also be included
if the conference committee agrees. In any case, the Call for Proposals should be very clear about the
kinds of papers that will be accepted in this category. The conference committee tries to organize
these paper presentation sessions around a theme or subject matter. Each 90-minute session should
include 3 or 4 papers. One hour sessions should include only two or 3. Presenters are encouraged to
leave time for questions and answers.
Symposium -- A symposium usually brings together 3-4 presenters from different institutions who are
examining the same issue or question. These presentations can be theoretical, research-based, or
more practical, as long as the Call for Proposals makes clear what kinds of presentations will be
acceptable for a symposium. A symposium often includes a comparison of the research methods and
findings or a comparison or a comparison of pedagogies or policies being presented. This can be
done by a discussant or it can be included in the individual presentations. In either case, symposium
presenters will be expected to read one another’s papers ahead of time.
There are two types of symposia:
(1) The conference committee can organize symposia using paper presentations based on proposals
that fit well together. However, presenters need to be aware of the additional demands of a
symposium (e.g., reading one another’s papers).
(2) Self-organized symposium: Presenters who know one another’s work can submit a proposal for
a self-organized symposium. The proposal should include the name of the discussant as well as the
presenters.
Workshop: Workshops should feature active participation by attendees. For example, workshop
presenter might introduce a pedagogical strategy by having participants experience it first hand. A
presenter might also have participants brainstorm about a particular issue or project, such as
OMEP’s WASH from the Start. While the workshop might have a brief, explanatory introduction
by the presenter, the majority of the time should be spent in active discussion and participation.
Workshops often require rooms with tables and chairs or other flexible seating arrangements.
Posters: The Conference Planning Committee will decide how to organize posters sessions,
depending largely on the amount of space and technology available.
Typically several (or many)
posters are presented at the same time in the same room. It is helpful if they can be organized by
theme or topic. Poster presenters need to know well in advance how much space they will have and
what the acceptable dimensions will be for their posters. They will also need to know whether they
will have access to the technology to use their computers for their posters.
*Typical Schedule for OMEP's Annual World Assembly and Conference
SUNDAY: Executive Committee Arrives. Host Committee typically provides transportation from
airport to hotel and hosts a dinner for ExCO.
MONDAY: ExCO meets all day. Need access to printing and duplicating. Host committee sometimes
arranges sightseeing or other activity for the evening, but free time is also OK.
TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY: World Assembly meets all day. There is typically an event for WA
members on Tuesday or Wednesday evening (depending on when the timing of the conference opening
session). The host country may host the event or require WA delegates to pay for it.
WEDNESDAY EVENING OR THURSDAY MORNING: Opening General Session
THURSDAY: General session (sometimes two) and parallel sessions. There is usually a conference
dinner, with an additional fee, on either Thursday or Friday night.
FRIDAY: General session (sometimes two) and parallel sessions. There is usually a conference dinner,
with an additional fee, on either Thursday or Friday night.
SATURDAY: The day might start with parallel sessions, followed by a General Session. It is usually
best to end the conference by noon.
PRE- AND POST-CONFERENCE TOURS: Conference committees typically arrange optional Preand Post-conference tours for additional charge. Tours might be to local child care facilities or to
overnight locations further away.
MORE ON HOST COUNTRY’S FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
The financial responsibilities are guaranteed through budget planning and subscription fees (insurance)
for the following expenses:
-
Simultaneous translation costs the World Assembly (2 days) and conference keynote addresses (3
days)
-
Printing of conference proceedings/ seminar papers (up to1000 pages).
-
A conference secretary
-
Conference and seminar rooms and additional working areas
-
Hotel accommodation and board for the members of World President and Executive Committee
members for 7 nights.
-
Travel expense for World President from home town to conference city.
-
Other expenses specified on the contract.
NOTE: This document is for informational and planning purposes only. The information is subject to
change. Your conference contract serves as the official agreement between the host country national
committee and World OMEP.