| The conference theme will be: Embracing and Bridging Differences. Global mobility offers a realm of differences. Some we may expect - people, place, language, culture, religion. Some we may not - differences in education, work styles, employment, relationship, health and economic status, leisure opportunities, and life stages. How we embrace and bridge those differences not only impacts our personal and professional lives and wellbeing, but also those who surround us. We look forward to listening to diverse voices, from those who have experienced or are currently living in differences, to connect and support our global community. We welcome individuals, researchers, and field experts who employ, sponsor and support the globally mobile to share their insights, resources and stories. The 2020 FIGT Conference will continue to build bridges between communities and sectors as expressed in our mission statement:
We would like to receive proposals that represent many different perspectives such as: counseling and coaching services, educational services, relocation specialists, researchers, entrepreneurs, corporate, mission, diplomat, military, international governmental and international non-governmental organizations, sponsored and self-initiated expats, refugees, immigrants, expat partners, adult CCKs and CCKs, artists, media, humanitarian, and all other globally mobile individuals and entities not listed but relevant. All proposals will be read by a Committee, a dedicated group of readers representing different perspectives and backgrounds. The readers conduct a review of all submissions and rank them on a numerical scale. The Committee reviewers use the following criteria:
Back to top Fees, Expectations and Scholarships FIGT runs on the dedicated work of our members who volunteer hundreds of hours of their time and talents. It is a nonprofit organization recognized under US law and operates with a limited budget that does not permit compensation for presenters. All conference presenters must sign their contracts within 7 days of receipt and register for the conference and pay the full registration fee before the Early Bird deadline, January 10, 2020. Presenters shall also cover their own travel and accommodation. If your proposal is accepted, you will receive a contract. If you require financial assistance to attend the conference, you will find information about our David C Pollock Scholarship here. Special conditions may apply for keynote speakers. Morning Forum: These forums begin the conference day and are an hour and a half long. Presenters (usually 2-4) who submit proposals that complement each other will be asked to co-create an hour long presentation or workshop that allows ample time for Q&A and discussion. Keynote: High-level lecture, presentation or performance. Can be followed by Q&A at the presenter’s discretion. Preference will be given to accomplished speakers or performers with topics that address a universal theme. Concurrent Session: Hour-long sessions focused on a single topic by one or several presenters. Preference will be given to sessions with original, compelling information, practical resources and/or empowerment tools for families or supporting professionals that are relevant to diverse sectors and experiences. When appropriate, interactive, practice-based, solution-oriented workshops or presentations are encouraged. The suggested format is a 15 to 20-minute presentation and 40-45 minute active discussion on your topic. Kitchen Table Conversation: Informal small group discussions around a table. Lively, interactive conversations around a focused, practical topic, designed to expose conference attendees to a range of ideas and presenters. Presenters make a brief (15-20 minute) verbal presentation of their topic and then engage in discussion (20-25 minutes). Ideal for new and experienced presenters alike. Lightning Session: Dynamic, structured talks allow presenters to share big ideas quickly to all conference attendees. Each presenter prepares 20 image-based PowerPoint slides, which advance automatically every 18 seconds, to accompany their “story.” Preference will be given to presentations that are engaging, informative, and based on a powerful question/idea, as well as to speakers with robust presentation skills. There will be a Q&A session immediately after the presentations. Panel Discussion: Hour-long expert panels can be an effective way to consolidate knowledge and lead a conversation across sectors and areas of experience/expertise. The ideal panel discussion will contain a big question of interest to constituents of all sectors, moderated by an experienced facilitator. To propose a panel discussion, please fill out the RFP with your information as well as the information for other panel members; we will follow up with you regarding details. Poster Session: Posters summarize information, ideas or research concisely and attractively to help publicize it and generate discussion. The poster is usually a mixture of a brief text mixed with tables, graphs, pictures, and other presentation formats. A poster is a graphic display of your work. Poster presenters will be invited to present their posters in designated 30 minutes time frame during the conference. The posters will be displayed during all three days allowing the audience to read your story/research/idea and contact the presenter during the event. Examples can be found here and here. The application must be submitted using an online form. This form must be completed in one sitting. It does not allow you to save your submission part way through and complete it later, although you can move back and forth between questions as you work. We strongly recommend you type out and save your more detailed responses in a separate document before you begin. When you hit “submit” at the end of your application, you are finished and will receive a confirmation email. You can expect to receive a response from our Program Committee in early November. By this time, scholarship decisions will have been confirmed. Before you begin, review all necessary information needed:
|