News

Dear IMISCOE-members,

We are happy to give you an update on this year’s online conference on July 7, 8 9, 2021.

As you all know, the pandemic forced us again to move the annual conference online. Conference registration will open in about one week (we are waiting to get clearance on the last bureaucratic steps). A message with the registration link will follow soon. Thank you all for giving us the time we needed to prepare everything the best way possible!

We are excited to inform you that we can offer you a onetime only reduced conference fee for this year’s conference participation and one-year membership:

• PhD-conference fee: €65
• Discounted fee for scholars in precarious conditions: €65
• Standard non-discounted conference fee: €90

·         late registration fee from June 1  to June 15: €105

• last-minute registration fee after June 15-July 2: €125 => Please note that it is not possible to pay the registration fee after July 2 or on the conference days.

The fee covers your access to the conference as well as a one-year IMISCOE individual membership. To learn more about the benefits associated with a membership of the IMISCOE-Network, please follow this link: https://www.imiscoe.org/about-imiscoe/members/becoming-a-member

Another positive note that we would like to share with you in this message is that we will offset the carbon footprint of this year’s annual conference. €5 of your conference fee will go towards planting trees in the rainforests of Costa Rica. While video conferencing does emit less carbon than f2f-conferences, nothing has zero emissions and a digital conference is not automatically green. It is still difficult to calculate exactly how much carbon emissions videoconferences create, but there are estimates.

For example:

• A one-hour standard-definition video call consumes about 270 MB per person.
• The standard-definition video calls would emit 0.6 kg of CO₂.

Given that one average tree absorbs about 10kg of CO₂ per year, it takes the planting of one tree to offset a standard quality video call with 36 participants (which is appr. the size of an average IMISCOE panel session). (sources: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210114134033.htm, https://gerrymcgovern.com/the-hidden-pollution-cost-of-online-meetings/, https://davidmytton.blog/zoom-video-conferencing-energy-and-emissions/)

We will work with a local NGO (https://www.rainforest.lu/spenden/), which works with locals in Costa Rica on reforestation projects to plant a diverse mix of trees and who assures that 100% of the donations go into the project.

We are looking forward to engaging further with you during our online conference. Conference Planning is still ongoing and please check our conference websites for news on a regular basis:

https://imiscoe2021.uni.lu/

https://www.imiscoe.org/events/imiscoe-events/925-18th-imiscoe-annual-conference-luxembourg-july-7-9-2021

Warm regards,

Birte Nienaber