RGS-IBG International Conference, 2019

Call for sessions

The RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2019 will take place from 28-30 August at the Royal Geographical Society in London. It will be chaired by Prof Hester Parr and will have as its theme “Geographies of trouble/geographies of hope”. The call for sessions at the conference has recently opened.

If you would like to propose a session related to the digital (including e.g. digital technologies, digital activism, global digital inequalities, data, just smart cities, surveillance, digital rights etc) and would like the Digital Geographies Research Group (DGRG) to sponsor it, we would like to hear from you. We would welcome joint sessions with other research groups. Proposals should relate to debates, literatures, approaches and practices around the digital, and some may link this to the 2019 conference theme, although this is not absolutely necessary.

Sessions may take the form of presented papers, panels, practitioner forums, discussions or workshops. Innovative sessions and formats are encouraged, and a case for virtual participation can be made.

How to submit a proposal

Proposals for, or questions about, DGRG sponsored sessions should be sent to Dorothea Kleine (d.j.kleine@sheffield.ac.uk) AND Jeremy Crampton (jeremy.crampton@ncl.ac.uk). Proposals should be submitted using (only) the first section of the RGS-IBG Session Proposal form – available here by 11th January, 2019.

The filled out form should include information on:

  • Title of session
  • Name of Co-sponsoring groups, (for now put the ones you are seeking sponsorship from)
  • Abstract, outlining scope of session  – 200 words max
  • Name and Contact Details for Session Convenors
  • Number of session timeslots that are sought – this year session may not normally occupy more than 2 time slots
  • Indication, of preferred organization of session, e.g. 4 x 20min presentation, plus 20min discussion or 5 x 15min presentation, with 5min question for each, we would encourage you to be creative in your use of the format. Sessions last 1 hour 40 mins (see here for some great ideas on session formats)
  • Indication, if known for any non-standard arrangements.

— Please note that individuals may not make more than two substantive contributions to the conference (where a substantive contribution is: organiser of a session of any number of timeslots; paper/poster presentation of any length; panel member). Acting as chair/facilitator or discussant, or being a non-presenting co-author is excluded from this limit, though multiple roles in these categories can have a significant impact on scheduling.

As in previous years, the RGS-IBG is able to provide a limited number of passes for those who would be otherwise unable to attend due to the costs involved. We encourage you to think about the inclusion of international contributors and non-academic delegates in your session.

We will confirm whether we will sponsor your session by 18th January 2019.

If you would like to circulate a Call for Papers before then, feel free to mention that DGRG sponsorship has been sought. We will circulate and publish CfPs for all DGRG sponsored sessions on our website from 21st January 2019.  

If your session is accepted for sponsorship you must secure participants and complete the required paperwork by 15th February 2019.