The 57th WPC will take place on 8-11 November 2021 in Doha, Qatar.  For those who will be unable to travel due to remaining country restrictions, the hybrid model will be adapted – fully virtual sessions for authors who can only present online will take place on 28-29 October 2021 and on 9 November 2021. A limited number of in-person sessions in Doha will be livestreamed to virtual-only delegates.

If you are an author with an accepted abstract and you submitted your full contribution and registered for the virtual-only ticket category, your presentation will be automatically scheduled in one of the online sessions of the Congress. Nevertheless, you may still be able to register for the in-person gathering in Qatar by paying the difference in fees as indicated in the fees overview page. Presenting authors will be automatically notified of their presentation schedules from 15 October onwards.

Registration is open. Non-presenting authors are most welcome to also register for the Congress - whether participating in-person in Qatar or virtually.

You can find the full programme of the 57th ISOCARP World Planning Congress here.

Sessions

Information for Virtual-Only Presenters

The presentations of papers and case studies falling under the five thematic tracks as well as the special sessions and forums will be hosted via live oral parallel sessions.  

The parallel sessions are abstract-based, 90-minute sessions in which authors of research papers and case study reports selected through a scientific review process will present their findings in a variety of engaging formats. 

The parallel sessions will be chaired by the Congress Team members of each track (two per track). For special sessions/session proposals, the session proposers will chair and moderate their sessions in coordination with the track chairs.

All in-person events, workshops, tours, and social gatherings will happen in Doha, Qatar on 8-11 November 2021. The virtual-only paper presentations will take place on 28-29 October 2021 and 9 November 2021, with up to three timeslots (4.5 hours maximum per day) for two consecutive days. The third day of the virtual-only sessions will take place on 9 November 2021, in parallel with the in-person sessions in Qatar. There will be a pre-congress opening event happening on 28 October. 

Presentation Confirmation

Authors of accepted abstracts who have submitted their full paper contributions and have registered for the congress - either in-person or virtual only are expected to present their work live and participate actively in the session/s they have been assigned to. As a presenting author, you can find your speaking assignment and schedule on your Congress account from 15 October onwards. Please log in to your account and check your profile updates at "My schedule" or "Sessions I am Speaking/Moderating at" tabs on your Dashboard. The detailed programme (including speakers) is available here.

Software and Platform

1. This website is the go-to place for all Congress-related information, communication, and actual sessions. All outgoing and incoming correspondences shall be directed to the congress official email: congress@isocarp.org.

2. All virtual parallel sessions as well as livestreamed sessions will be hosted via Zoom and will be accessible via the website's detailed programme. Presenting delegates will be able to share their screen and present their paper or case study in any format they prefer, as long as it is within the allowable time. The session chairs may also suggest a presentation format and inform the presenting authors ahead of time. Presenters may be able to enter the "room" 15 minutes before the session starts. All registered presenters will informed sufficiently of the procedures in due course.

IMPORTANT: Virtual-only presenting authors are strongly advised to have Zoom downloaded onto their device in case of technical problems with joining in the sessions via the website. We recommend using a computer, laptop or tablet instead of a mobile phone.

We recommend using VPN (virtual private network) for the following countries with restricted access to Zoom: Cuba, Iran, Syria, Ukraine (Crimea Region).

Technical support 

Each session will have a "host" (administrator) who will be permanently monitoring the virtual room, administering, and managing the technical aspects and requirements of the session. The host will also brief all speakers 15 minutes before the start of each session, record all sessions, admit "attendees", respond to the queries and technical issues being encountered by the participants, and keep all the materials for the session. For any issues encountered during the session, please email: congress@isocarp.org. The audience can use the live Q&A chat to ask their questions to presenters. Each session will be chaired and moderated by two Congress Team members who are responsible for the track. 

Mode of Presentation

The sessions will be a combination of live and pre-recorded presentations. All speakers/presenting authors are expected to present live and participate actively during their session. Presenting authors (except session proposers and speakers for special sessions) are invited to pre-record their presentations and upload it on their accounts. These pre-recorded videos may be used in case speakers are unable to present live due to critical time zone issues as well as technical difficulties. All (live) parallel sessions will be recorded for archiving and will remain accessible to all registered attendees.

Duration of Live Presentations

Each session runs for 90 minutes, and track chairs are responsible for allocating speaker times. The specific time allocation will be communicated by the track chairs to presenting authors via email at the latest one week before the scheduled presentation. Ideally, live presentations should run for a maximum of 10-12 minutes unless arranged differently by the track chairs. Speakers are requested to strictly adhere to their allocated time slots. In the event that a presenting author is unable to attend the session, the track chairs may opt to play the pre-recorded presentations which are timed up to maximum of 8 minutes. Different duration applies to keynote speeches, introductory remarks, and other presentations during the special sessions.