11 February 2016

Just a few more hours .. OGS Conference 2017 presentation proposals

Jane Down, Program Chair OGS Conference 2017 has asked that I remind blog readers about the 15 February deadline for presentation proposals.

In case you missed it here's the call.

Our Canada - Your Family: Building a Nation

Call for Presentations OGS Conference 2017

The annual Ontario Genealogical Society Conference 2017 will be held in Ottawa on June 16-18, 2017 at Algonquin College. The theme of the conference is Our Canada – Your Family: Building a Nation. As 2017 will be the 150th anniversary of the birth of Canada, Ottawa Branch OGS will host the annual OGS conference and give the Conference a national flair, bringing together genealogists and family historians from all over Canada. We are looking for speakers and talks of interest to genealogists from all provinces.

In keeping with this theme, we invite proposals for presentations on: family history from every region and territory of Canada (e.g. Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies and British Columbia); migration to and from Canada and also within Canada and how this helped to not only build our families, but also Canada; pre- and post-1867 research in Upper Canada; religious associations; military connections; the latest updates on computer, social media and genealogy database technology; the ever growing use of DNA testing for genealogy; and skill-building for family historians (e.g. use of the genealogy proof standard, getting more out of online resources).  Speakers from other related disciplines are welcome! Statisticians, demographers, archaeologists, researchers, archivists, librarians, geographers, cartographers, scientists, theologians, doctors, PhD candidates, software gurus, internet intellectuals, social media mavens, and historians of all kinds have information of interest to family historians and we would like to hear from you!  

Most sessions will be one hour long. Sessions may be streamed in or out of the Conference venue. Topics for interactive, hands-on workshops are also welcome (typically half-day sessions). Speakers will receive an honorarium, plus appropriate expenses and complimentary Conference registration. In early 2017, speakers will submit content for inclusion in a syllabus. 

Please submit your proposals by e-mail. Include your full name, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address, website address (if applicable) and biographical information including recent speaking credits. For each proposal, please provide a unique title, a summary of your presentation (250 words maximum), the intended audience (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and your A/V requirements. Multiple proposals are encouraged. 

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS IS FEBRUARY 15, 2016

To submit proposals or ask questions, please contact the Conference 2017 Program Committee at: program.conference2017@ogs.on.ca. 

For more information about OGS or Ottawa Branch respectively, please visit: www.ogs.on.ca or www.ogsottawa.on.ca.

Comment:  I have no idea why OGS considers it necessary to have such an early deadline for a conference which is more than 15 months away. I'm led to understand it's dictated by OGS HQ, a deadline the folks organizing the Toronto conference this June have ignored with, seemingly, excellent results.

4 comments:

Mike More said...

John, the deadline was set by the Conference 2017 committee in order to have the information on speakers in time to present at Conference 2016 in June.

Anonymous said...

Good God. Isn't Jane busy enough with BIFHSGO activities? Her activity level exhausts me just to think about .... Cheers, BT

Mike More said...

If more people actually worked in support of their genealogical organizations, most of the work would not have to fall on a few shoulders.

Anonymous said...

Because of the theme of the 2016 conference - Genealogy on the cutting edge - the committee purposely left 8 slots open for a second call for presentations - These spots are for lectures on new developments in the field of genealogy. Lets see what they come up with.

I am a firm believer that advertising for the next conference should start at the current conference. In order to do this the full program needs to be completed and this requires an early close date to your call for presentations.

The sooner I know about the next conference the longer I have to save money to cover my costs to attend.