The Executive Committee of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) is now seeking expressions of interest from prospective Conference Hosts for the annual meeting of the Association in October 2021. The AoIR conference draws an international group of 500-600 researchers and practitioners to present and discuss work at the cutting edge in understanding the social and cultural aspects of the internet and related technologies. In line with our regular rotation schedule, the 2021 conference will take place in North America, and expressions of interest are therefore limited to prospective Conference Hosts in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
We seek expressions of interest from organisations or consortia to serve as Conference Host for a future AoIR conference. The Conference Host is an organisation or group of organisations that serve as a liaison to AoIR, assisting in the identification of conference spaces, hotels, catering and reception options, local sponsorships, and ways to feature the local intellectual community and culture. They may also propose a Program Chair: an individual who helps to develop the conference theme and to identify keynote and plenary speakers, oversees the submissions and review process of papers, panels, workshops, and preconferences, and schedules the conference sessions. The Program Chair may be a member of the organization that acts as Conference Host.
Dedicated AoIR staff including the Association Coordinator and Conference Coordinator will lead much of the conference planning, including negotiating contracts with hotels, meeting venues, catering, and the like, and handling the administrative details of the conference, such as registration, reception and meal planning, AV and wifi provision, and book vendor displays. The role of the Conference Host is to advise on this process, provide crucial local knowledge and connections, and where possible provide venue space at cost or for free.
Organizations or consortia that may be interested in serving as Conference Host should contact President Axel Bruns at prez (at) aoir.org by 1 March 2019 with a brief expression of interest. The document should include the following:
- the organization(s) involved;
- your connection to internet research and to AoIR;
- a description of any prior experiences you have had with organizing or hosting a conference and the role you played in this;
- an argument to support the proposed conference location, especially with respect to ease of travel for AoIR’s multinational community of conference participants;
- initial thoughts on local venue options and associated costs (AoIR has in the past held the annual conference at a variety of venue spaces including universities, conference centers, and hotels);
- prospective conference dates, keeping in mind any major local, national, and international holidays, semester schedules, or other aspects that might affect the timing of the conference;
- a firm indication of whether you will be attending AoIR 2019 in Brisbane and are available to meet for further discussions about hosting AoIR 2021.
