Early Bird Registration and Other Important AoIR2016 Updates

Hi everyone! So, I’m looking at the calendar, and I want to share with you some quick updates on our planning for AoIR 2016, and some important dates.

The Conference

This year’s conference theme is Internet Rules! Our diligent German local organizing committee of Dr. Christian Katzenbach, Larissa Wunderlich, and the folks at the Humboldt University Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) has been planning a first rate conference for us. The conference gets underway at Humboldt University with several workshops on Wednesday, 5 October, and our Keynote address with Jose van Dijck launches the main conference in the evening of the 5th. The main conference is 6-8 October, with a soon-to-be announced Plenary panel on 6 October.

The conference ends the evening of the 7th with a reception at a unique Berlin-esque venue with food, drinks, and a DJ. More announcements on that soon. As we’ve done in the last few years, this conference reception is part of the conference–no additional fees to attend–thanks to our sponsors. Dr. Cornelius Puschmann, our program chair, will be announcing the final schedule for the conference in early August.

Registration

But, here’s the catch: if you plan to come to AoIR and present your work, you need to register. The early bird registration deadline is August 1st (a reminder of our conference registration fees are here). Anyone who had a paper, panel, or other submission type accepted but is not registered by that date will be removed from the final program.

Speaking of registration, please help us replenish the travel scholarship fund. AoIR has worked hard to provide up to 6 travel awards, 5 $500 awards and one $1500 award, to people who are doing scholarship that is underrepresented at the conference or who could not attend the conference due to financial circumstances or are from non-OECD countries (see the call for applications if you’re curious). This money generally goes to doctoral students or early career faculty who may not have the support to come to the conference otherwise. Unfortunately, the fund is depleting. We will not be able to keep providing such generous support without help from our members. When you register, if you can spare $10, there is a check box to give a personal contribution to the travel fund. Help us make the AoIR conference a global meeting of scholars.

Hotels

AoIR overlaps with a holiday in Germany, and Berlin is a popular vacation destination. If you haven’t yet, get your hotel room booked. AoIR is not doing a room block at a hotel this year because there are so many hotel options in Berlin generally and especially in the area of the conference around Humboldt University. We have identified several hotels that you might start with, and you can find that list here.

That’s the urgent news for now. A quick thanks to Axel Bruns, AoIR’s Vice President, and Kelly Quinn, AoIR’s Treasurer, for the many hours they have put into organizing this conference so far. I am excited to see everyone in Berlin for a thoughtful examination of the current state of the Internet and its Rules.

~Jenny Stromer-Galley
President, AoIR
prez@aoir.org