Call For Session Proposals

Sessions are limited to 60 minutes in duration this year. Below are examples (in alphabetical order) of possible session formats. Organizers are welcome to suggest new format ideas.

• Birds of a Feather (BoF) – An informal discussion session designed to connect the participants of shared topic of interests without a pre-planned agenda.

• Fireside Chat – Share your experiences and ideas in an informal setting, and invite reflection or feedback.

• Showcase – 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.

• Panel – 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.

• Roundtable – Interactive dialogue involving all participants with designated moderators and not more than 2 speakers.

• Tutorial – 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.

• Workshop – A more hands-on session with small break out groups. e.g. role-play discussion, fishbowl discussion.

• Other – You can also create your own formats, as long as they fit within the allocated times and spaces.

Deadline of Session Proposal Submission: 8 June 2021, 23:59 UTC (Tue) 22 June 2021, 23:59 UTC (Tue)

14 Jan (Thu) – Open call for thematic suggestions (4 weeks)

15 Feb (Mon) – Deadline for thematic survey

30 Mar (Tue) – Finalise the overarching theme and thematic tracks

28 Apr (Wed) – Open call for session proposal (6 weeks)

22 June (Tue) – Deadline for session proposal submission

End of June – Deadline of session evaluation

Early July – Announce selected session proposals

July – Release final program

Sep 27-30 – APrIGF 2021

The Program Committee 2021 within the Multistakeholder Steering Group (MSG) is responsible for evaluating all the session proposals received. A preliminary list of selected session proposals will be announced by June 2021 after which session organizers are expected to finalize their speakers and/or coordinate on a merged session (if required) within a month. The program agenda will be published by July 2021.

1. Relevance

Are the specific issues to be addressed by the proposal clearly correlated to the thematic tracks and relevant to the overarching theme of the APrIGF 2021?

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/speakers (and their availability). 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, gender and geographical perspectives? Are there multiple 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? In particular, the Program Committee would like to see proposals that represent diversity in both the issues presented and the speakers nominated with respect to gender, disability and stakeholder groups.

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 discussions among the participants and panelists. 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.

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 the APrIGF theme and tracks.
4. Provide promotional materials per the request of Secretariat for social media use.
5. Make sure your moderators, speakers and you have registered for the event: https://igf.asia/2021register.
6. 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.
7. Ensure that speakers are diverse in terms of gender, geography and stakeholder group; invite different organizations or projects to collaborate on the session with you; remember diversity is key.
8. Promote APrIGF among your network along with your session.
9. Submit the session summary report within 2 weeks after the conference.
10. Participate in the Synthesis Document development and contribute with the insights from your session discussions. (optional)

Fireside Chat: Jack and the Tech Giants: Freedom of Expression and Information in the Tech Era

Panel Discussion: Accessible digital information, training and libraries: Reducing discrimination for persons with disability

Roundtable: Learn from Home During COVID-19

Workshop: The Internet’s Environmental Impact: an action-oriented dialogue

All sessions will be attended by MSG or Program Committee volunteers and a post-evaluation will be completed based on the following criteria:

• Compliance to the session evaluation criteria with contents of proposal submitted and the actual session presentation, including:
• Relevancy to the thematic tracks and relevant to the overarching theme of the APrIGF 2021;
• The actual result of the session 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 audience by the moderator during the session.
• Time management

The evaluation will be submitted to the Secretariat for incorporating into the final post-session report for record keeping purposes and to review the quality of sessions for future reference.

Content

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.

Format

Can I organize the session physically at a local hub?

Yes, you are welcome to organize your session at a local hub with physical attendance if circumstances are allowed. You may inform the Secretariat if your session proposal is selected.

 

If you would like to organize your own hub, please read through the details here and submit the Expression of Interest form (to be updated).

Speakers

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 4. The Program Committee prefers proposals that have a diversity of speakers from different gender, stakeholder groups and possibly geographical locations.

Where can I seek help to find speakers?

You may join the APrIGF community discussion list to seek interest on the mailing list or seek advice from the MSG by sending an email to the Secretariat ([email protected]).

Proposal Submission

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.

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.

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.

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

When do I know whether my proposal is accepted?

The list of accepted sessions is expected to be released by June and the Secretariat will contact the successful session organisers respectively.

If my proposal is accepted, what should I do next?

You should confirm with your moderators / speakers 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. Make sure your moderators, speakers and you have registered for the event:

https://igf.asia/2021register. You will be asked to provide promotional materials for social media use.

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.

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

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.

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.