[Coral-List] Reminder - Call for session proposals, 13th International Coral Reef Symposium, Honolulu, Hawaii June 19-24, 2016

[Robert Richmond]

      13th International Coral Reef Symposium


      Announcement and Call for Session Proposals

The 13th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) will be held at the 
Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu, Hawaii on 19- 24 June 2016. The 
ICRS, sanctioned by the International Society for Reef Studies (ISRS) 
and held every four years, is the primary
international meeting focused on coral reef science and management. The 
Symposium will bring together an anticipated 2,500 coral reef 
scientists, policy makers and managers from 70 different nations in a 
forum to present the latest research findings, case
histories and management activities, and to discuss the application of 
scientific knowledge to achieving coral reef sustainability.

Theme: “Bridging Science to Policy”
Coral reefs provide essential ecological, economic and cultural services 
to the people of tropical and subtropical islands and coastal 
communities worldwide. While scientific knowledge about coral reefs and 
their structure, functioning and responses to stressors
has increased exponentially over the past few decades, the state of 
reefs globally has declined during this period, at a comparable rate in 
many places. To address this disconnect, a theme of the 13th ICRS will 
be “Bridging Science to Policy” with specific goals focusing on:
1) Improving trust and communications among scientists, policy makers, 
managers and stakeholders.
2) Developing strong partnerships between political leaders and the 
scientific community.
3) Guiding efforts and strategies for effective allocation of limited 
financial, human and institutional resources to halt and reverse coral 
reef decline locally and globally.
4) Developing a framework for quantitatively evaluating the 
effectiveness of coral reef protection and recovery activities and 
initiatives by applying the best available science.


        Session Proposals:

The scientific planning committee invites proposals for sessions and 
panels of interest to researchers, resource managers, economists, policy 
makers, educators and students. Themes will address coral reef science, 
management, conservation and policy.
Multidisciplinary/cross-disciplinary, solution-oriented sessions are 
particularly encouraged in which a range of participants can interact 
with a goal of producing concrete outputs leading to positive coral reef 
outcomes.

Proposal Format:
a) Proposals should include an informative title and a short description 
(200 words) of the proposed session.
b) Proposals should identify at least two, but no more than four 
co-organizers and provide their Name(s), Affiliation(s) and Contact 
Information.
c) One of the co-chairs should be identified as the lead contact for the 
meeting committee.
d) Proposals should also indicate prospective speakers/participants, but 
sessions should be open to both invited and contributed presenters.
e) Sessions may consist of oral and poster presentations, panels, 
moderated discussions or a combination of these. Please indicate the 
anticipated mix, but note that the final allocation of time slots will 
be determined by the scientific planning committee
after abstract submission closes. Session organizers will assist with 
the allocation of time within their sessions.

f) Proposals should include the expected audience, both in terms of size 
and discipline(s).
g) International and cross-disciplinary representation is encouraged, as 
is a mix of both seasoned and emerging expertise, with an eye towards 
developing capacity in the Society, the field and the nations in which 
coral reefs are found. Proposals should indicate
whether this objective is being incorporated.

Session organizers should note that they are expected to fund their own 
registration, travel and accommodation costs, assuming that is that they 
expect to attend the conference  (i.e, such costs are not provided for 
centrally by ICRS 13.)

*Proposals for sessions should be submitted online via theSessions 
Submissions Page <http://orcascom.com/isrs/sessions/>, which is now 
operational.*The closing date for submissions is now31st July 2015. 
Proposals will be reviewed by the program committee, and organizers will be
notified about decisions in by September 2015. Once a session is 
accepted, session organizers may solicit abstract submissions to their 
session. Scheduling will be performed collaboratively by the planning 
committee and session organizers.


        Projected Fees:

Every effort is being made to make this meeting as accessible and 
affordable as possible. Based on projected budgets at this point, we 
anticipate the following likely rate schedule:
ISRS members > 2 years – $500 (US)
ISRS members < 2 years – $550 (US)
Non-ISRS members – $750 (US)
ISRS student members – $350 (US)
Non-ISRS member students – $450 (US)
The final rates will depend on the success of external fund raising 
efforts, which are well underway. Anyone willing to assist in finding 
donors and sponsors, please contact Bob Richmond as below.


        Contacts

For information about the scientific program,
including technical or content questions:
Dr. Robert Richmond, Convener, 13th ICRS
Kewalo Marine Laboratory
University of Hawaii at Manoa
41 Ahui Street
Honolulu, HI 96813 USA
email: richmond at hawaii.edu
Phone: (1) 808-539-7330

For practical and logistical information:
Helen Schneider Lemay, Conference Manager,
13th ICRS
SG Meeting and Marketing Services
5400 Bosque Boulevard, Suite 680
Waco, TX 76710 USA
email: helens at sgmeet.com
Phone: (1) 254-776-3550
Fax: (1) 254-776-3767

-- 
Robert H. Richmond, Ph.D.
Research Professor and Director
Kewalo Marine Laboratory
University of Hawaii at Manoa
41 Ahui Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 USA
Phone: 808-539-7330
Fax: 808-599-4817
E-mail: Richmond at hawaii.edu