Call for APrIGF 2020 Session Proposals

Session proposals must be submitted via online submission system by the deadline. An automatic confirmation email and a copy of the proposal will be sent to the registered email with a unique Proposal ID. Session organizers are allowed to edit their proposals before the submission deadline. Valid session submissions will be reflected online within 48 hours.
 
Any Internet user with interest in Internet Public Policy, technical operations, development etc. is eligible to submit a session proposal for APrIGF. Interested session organizers should review the evaluation criteria below and the various session formats carefully before submitting a proposal. Examples of successful session proposals can be found in Section VII.

Submit a proposal now!

Below are examples (in alphabetical order) of possible session formats. Organizers are welcome to suggest new format ideas. 

1. Birds of a Feather (BoF) (30/60 mins) – An informal discussion session designed to connect the participants of shared topic of interests without a pre-planned agenda.
2. Fireside Chat (30/60 mins) – Share your experiences and ideas in an informal setting, and invite reflection or feedback.
3. Showcase (30/60 mins) – An open space for any organizations to share their recent Internet governance activities, research findings or any new initiatives to seek engagement or collaboration within the Asia Pacific Community.
4. Panel (60/90 mins) – Presentation and/or sharing of viewpoints by speakers on a particular topic. The number of speakers on the panel shall not be more than 6 to allow sufficient time for interaction with the attendees.
5. Roundtable (60/90 mins) – Interactive dialogue involving all participants with designated moderators and not more than 2 speakers.
6. Tutorial (60 mins) – A capacity building or peer-learning session on specific issues for the participants. The format of delivery and target audience shall be clearly described in the proposal.
7. Workshop (60/90 mins) – A more hands-on session with small break out groups. e.g. role-play discussion, fishbowl discussion.
8. Other – You can also create your own formats, as long as they fit within the allocated times and spaces.

(Updated on 20 March, 2020)

Deadline of Session Proposals Submission (EXTENDED): 24 February 2020, 24:00 UTC 10 Apr 2020, 24:00 UTC (Fri)
18 Oct (Fri) – Open Call for Thematic Suggestions (3 weeks)
8 Nov (Fri) – Deadline for Thematic Survey
13 Dec (Fri) – MSG Meeting (Finalise the Overarching and Sub-themes)
Mid-Jan – Open Call for Session Proposal (6 weeks)
10 Apr (Mon) – Deadline for Session Proposal Submission
7 May (Thu) – Deadline of Session Evaluation
15 May (Fri) – Announce selected session proposals
15 June (Mon) – Release Final Program
Sep 27-30 – APrIGF 2020 (Postponed)

The Program Committee 2020 within the Multi-Stakeholder Steering Group (MSG) is responsible for evaluating all the session proposals received. A preliminary list of selected session proposals will be announced by June 2020 after which session organizers are expected to finalize their speakers and/or coordinate on a merged session (if required) within two weeks. The program agenda will be published by July 2020.

1. Relevance
Are the specific issues to be addressed by the proposal clearly correlated to the designated sub-theme and relevant to the overarching theme of the APrIGF 2020?

2. Detail & Clarity
Does the proposal provide all information requested in the Submission Form, specifically: fully expounded issues, intended discussion outcomes, viable approach to discussion, and the choice of moderator/contributors (and their availabilities). The status of confirmation and relevance of panelists to the issues discussed will also be taken into consideration.

3. Inclusion and Diversity
Does the proposed session represent viewpoints from multiple stakeholders and provide diverse cultural, economic, gender and geographical perspectives? Are there at least 2 different stakeholder groups on the panel? Are the listed panelists qualified to represent various distinct stakeholder groups? Does the session contribute to the overall diversity of the APrIGF event?

4.  Engagement
Does the format selected, the number of speakers and the length of the proposed session support participation from the audience? Does the proposal provide details of how the session will be run to promote discussion and engagement from the audience? Does the proposal state how to incorporate remote participation and contributions into the discussion? Does the proposal include plans of the session content preparations and distribution of topic issues among the speakers/panelists/organizers prior to APrIGF event?

Additional Note

• The MSG would like to see more collaborative discussion among the participants and panelists; therefore we strongly encourage proposals that foster interactive dialogues with on-site session moderator confirmed. A description of how you intend the session to be conducted i.e. a clear objective, method/process and scope for participation (from attendees) would help the Program Committee better understand your proposal.
• While there is no strict upper limit of session submission from each organizer, the MSG strongly encourages each organizer to focus on submitting quality proposals to enhance the chance to be selected.

*Session Mergers: Upon evaluation, the MSG may suggest selected session organizers with thematically similar proposals to form mergers. This is to accommodate more diverse and quality sessions on the program agenda. Organizers are under no obligation to accept a merger, but may carry a risk of losing the opportunity to conduct their session.

1. Be inclusive and foster new connections among participants.
2. Respect diversity of opinion, belief, experience and background.
3. Design your session to fit under one of the APrIGF subthemes.
4. Respect your time allocation, ensure sufficient time availability to engage with audience and remote participants and plan to maximize the use of the time available.
5. Invite different organizations or projects to collaborate on the session with you, remember diversity is key.
6. Promote the APrIGF among your network along with your session.
7. Submit a Session Summary Report within 2 weeks after the conference.
8. Participate in the Synthesis Document development and contribute with the insights from your session discussions. (optional)

1. Join the APrIGF community discussion mailing list to seek collaboration or speakers. You may send a subscription request to the Secretariat at [email protected].
2. Remember that MSG members are always happy to help proposers by sharing feedback and suggestions of speakers for a session. Do not hesitate to fill in this online form to send a message to them and promptly get a piece of advice
3. Look at the 2020 Potential Speakers List(to be updated) to see if any volunteers from the community will be relevant to your session.

1. Birds of a Feather: Coping with misinformation in an era of information deluge: Who is Responsible?
2. Roundtable: Big tech everywhere: Is this the future of the Internet?
3. Workshop: A roadmap for studying ICT laws and building a database for Asia
4. Panel: Analyzing Perspectives on Youth Participation in the Multi-stakeholder Landscape: A Contextual Follow-Through Session on Motivations to Sustainability Efforts

1. All workshops will be attended by MSG or Program Committee volunteers in person and a post evaluation (on a numeric score from 1-4) will be completed based on the following criteria:
1. Compliance to the workshop evaluation criteria with contents of proposal submitted and the actual workshop presentation, including:
• Relevancy to the designated sub-theme and relevant to the overarching theme of the APrIGF 2020;
• The ctual result of the workshop in accordance to the Detail & Clarity originally submitted;
• The final composition of the speakers or panelists in terms of inclusion and diversity;
• The actual engagement of the onsite and remote audience by the moderator during the session.
2. Time management
2. The evaluation will be submitted to the Secretariat for incorporating into the final post-session report for record keeping purposes, in which the score will be used as an evaluation criteria on past performance by the same session organizer for the APrIGF in future.

Content

1. What constitutes a good session proposal?
   A good session proposal shall have clearly defined and relevant issues to be discussed with concrete questions and agenda. A session with a confirmed list of speakers at the time of submission is highly preferred.

Speakers

1. How many speakers should I invite?
   The program committee encourages interactive dialogue among the speakers and the audience. Hence, the maximum number of speakers shall not exceed 6. The Program Committee prefers proposals that have a diversity of speakers from different gender, stakeholder groups and possibly geographical locations.
2. Where can I seek help to find speakers?
   You may join the APrIGF community discussion list to seek interest on the mailing list. Alternatively, a potential speakers list has been set up.
3. Is it possible to have remote speaker?
   Yes. Remote participation is available via Zoom or other similar tools. Note that the number of remote speakers should not exceed 40% of the total number of speakers in your proposed session. For example:
   Total number of speakers: 3, number of max. remote speakers: 1
   Total number of speakers: 5, number of max. remote speakers: 2

Proposal Submission

1. Can I submit more than one proposal?
   Each organization/individual is allowed to submit more than one proposal. However, it is up to the Program Committee’s discretion whether to accept more than one proposal from the same individual/organization to encourage more/new session proposers.
2. Am I allowed to edit my proposal after submitting it?
   Yes, you may edit your proposal until the session submission deadline, with no big change of the proposed session content.
3. How do I edit my proposal?
   You may edit your proposal with the edit link received from the auto-generated email at the time of submission.
4. I did not receive an email confirmation after submitting my session proposal. What should I do?
   Please write to the Secretariat at [email protected] for troubleshooting.

After Proposal Submission

1. When do I know whether my proposal is accepted?
   The list of accepted sessions is expected to be released by mid-March and the Secretariat will contact the successful session organisers respectively.
2. If my proposal is accepted, what should I do next?
   You should confirm with your moderators / speakers, and make sure they have their travel and accommodation arranged as soon as possible. Please constantly update the status of your moderators / speakers online with the edit link received from the auto-generated email for our information.
3. When should I submit materials, if any, to be used during my session?
   If you have any powerpoints or videos used for presentation, please send to the secretariat ([email protected]) around 1 month in prior.
4. Is there anything I need to follow up after the session?
   You need to submit the Brief Summary of Session online within 2 weeks.

Attendance

1. Is it necessary that the session organizer be the moderator or vice versa?
   No, the moderator could be a different person than the session organizer. A session organizer is, however, responsible to submit the session summary report and update the online session page. The moderator should attend the session in person, or else there should be an on-site facilitator to interact with the audience.
2. Will I get funding support to attend the conference if my session is being accepted?
   No. APrIGF has a Fellowship Program with a separate and independent evaluation process. All session organizers and speakers shall arrange their own travel plans.