Annual Report 2012, Cadiz

The network 4 activities during the ECER conference in Cadiz have focussed on presentations of individual proposals, on symposia and on poster presentations. There were however also many ‘invisible’ activities, like informal meetings of participants planning projects together, discussing joint manuscripts, exchanging  state of affairs  of policy development in their countries or contact possible guest speakers. This type of activities are an essential aspect of an international conference.

The interest in participating in network 4 activities was large this year. Over 150 proposals were submitted. Four reviewers read in pairs each 75 proposals. Where they agreed the final decision followed their judgment. In cases where they disagreed, the lead convenor made the final decision often giving the author of the proposal the benefit of the doubt. In the end about 120 proposals were accepted. This resulted in three sessions simultaneously going on during nearly the whole conference.   There was a lot to choose for the participants of the conference. Quite a number of proposals addressed organising a symposium. Especially these attracted a good audience. Generally there were 15 to 40 people attending the sessions.

The poster exhibition could attract more visitors and more discussion if presented close to the network activities.

About 40 participants attended the network meeting. During the network meeting the procedures for discussing a paper were addressed. Many participants supported the idea that people asking a question or commenting a paper should stand up and say their name. By standing up it is easier for the audience to actually hear what the question or comment is. It was suggested to introduce this as a suggestion for a general guideline to the ECER board.