Special Sessions/Tracks call for proposals

Special Sessions aim to give space within the Conference to special tracks that are not among those proposed by the organization, sessions with a unique topic and format, or groups of people that want to present the progress or results of a specific project. We invite special sessions that provide artistic or interactive avenues to learn, debate, and co-create in transdisciplinary manners, such as dancing, futuring, visioning, painting, sculpture, songwriting, theatre, improv, poetry, backcasting, world cafés, board games, yoga and meditation etc.

• Open Special Sessions: These are sessions organized around a specific track that is related to degrowth and ecological economics but not clearly fitting with any of the tracks proposed by the conference organizers. These sessions will be open to the participation of any applicant during the “call for abstracts” period that opens in November. 

• Closed Special Sessions: These sessions are organized within the context of a specific project that aligns with the overall theme of the conference. Participation is by invitation only, as determined by the session proposers and organizers; only pre-approved individuals will be allowed to present - including the session proposers themselves. 

The selected Special Sessions will be carried out within the parallel session slots. 

Applicants both to Open Special Sessions and Closed Special Sessions must indicate in the application form in which session format - external link their proposed sessions would be developed (conventional, interactive, or artistic modalities).

The Special Session/Track proposals must be submitted through the submission platform - external link before October 16, 2023. To be accepted for evaluation, each proposal must include the following information:

• Format of the Special Session: It must be selected among the modalities indicated in the “session formats - external link” page (except the “plenary session” and the “poster” modalities)

• Organizers: There will be a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 organizers for each Special Session. The information provided will include, for each organizer: full name, organization, and e-mail.

• Title for the proposed session/track

• Short abstract (up to 150 words) about the proposed session

• Keywords: A minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6.

• Type of Special Session (Open Special Session / Closed Special Session)

• Track(s): a selection of up to 2 tracks. If a new track is proposed, the submission must include a brief description of it. 

• A clear description (up to 1000 words) for the proposed session and how it could contribute to ecological economics and/or degrowth and the dynamic proposed for the session, including a minimum and a maximum number of participants (presenters), the optimum duration (up to 90 minutes), the space requirements, and any other relevant information for the appropriate development of the session. This item is especially relevant for interactive and artistic modalities. For interactive sessions, it will be necessary to include an explanation about what audience participation would consist of.

Any person can submit a proposal for organizing an Open or a Closed Special Session. Proposals will be evaluated by the Scientific Committee, with the support of external reviewers, if required, according to the following criteria:  

• Thematic relevance and relation to the central theme of the conference
  
• Quality of the proposal
• Diversity of contributors (geographical, gender, academic rank), possibly including both academic and non-academic contributions
• Clarity of presentation
• Originality and creativity
• Degree of inter and trans-disciplinarity
• Coordinators experience

Special Session proposal approval after the evaluation does not guarantee final inclusion in the program. Contributions submitted to special sessions during the “call for proposals” period will undergo review, similar to that for regular sessions. To be held, the session must include at least 3 approved contributions or the minimum number indicated in the special session submission. In the case of sessions that do not reach the minimum number of approved contributions, or do not cover a full session slot, the conference organizing team may decide whether to cancel the session or merge it with another related session. 

Organizers will be responsible for their sessions, always working in close contact with the conference organizers. Some of their functions will be:

• Participating in the revision and evaluation of the contributions submitted for their session
• Chairing the session or naming a chair
• Giving support to the participants of the session and helping to address any questions or difficulties that may arise 
• Ensuring that participants are aware of how the session works and comply with objectives and rules
• Any other issue directly related to their session