Guidance for active participation and presentations

The format of the conference is hybrid, i.e., a combination of live (participants are physically present in Potsdam) and virtual (participation occurs online via the internet). Students are especially encouraged to participate.

If you do not wish to contribute an active part, we welcome your participation and possible contribution to the discussion.

The program is composed of time slots of 75 minutes each harboring a lecture session, an organized section, a roundtable, or a workshop.

The general conference language is English.

Program Submission (Abstracts):

Regardless of whether you are participating live or virtually, we ask that you submit your proposal in the form of an abstract (minimum of half a page and maximum of one page = 1500 chars) by June 15, 2022, via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Please use the prepared PDF-form you can download here.

The conference committee jury will review your proposal and inform you of the outcome no later than June 22.
With the acceptance of your proposal by the conference committee, we will ask you to prepare a presentation of maximum of 15 minutes for the conference. If you are participating virtually, you will be encouraged to submit a video by July 31, 2022. 

Early submissions help the conference committee identify emerging themes and design the program. Thus, we encourage early submissions of presentations and abstracts as soon as possible — keeping in mind that digital revisions will always be accepted up to the final deadline.

PRESENTATION SESSIONS:

Presentation Sessions will contain a sequence of oral presentations with a maximum duration of 15 minutes each. There will be at most four lectures per session, leaving a minimum of 15 minutes of total time for discussion. The organizing committee will bundle presentations according to the topic.

Active participants are required to hand in an abstract until June 15, 2022. They will be notified regarding the acceptance of their proposal until June 22.
Virtual contributors are furthermore required to prepare a video recording of their lecture with a maximum duration of 15 minutes and forward it to the Conference Committee until July 31, 2022, via a file link (e.g. wetransfer.com) to conference2022[at]coh-europe.de.

ORGANIZED SECTIONS:

An organized section is similar to a session above (containing a maximum of four presentations) except that it is now organized by a group of professionals or students or an organization that all contribute to a central theme. The proposed section should be described by one abstract (to be handed in until June 15, 2022, to conference2022[at]coh-europe.de) by the organizer explaining the central theme and containing the names of the organizing person and the group members as well as the titles of all presentations. Section organizers will be notified regarding the acceptance of their proposal until June 22, 2022.

Live, virtual, hybrid: Sections can be entirely live, entirely virtual, or hybrid. For information on online presentations, see "video format" at the bottom of the page, a video should be sent in until July 31, 2022. A totally virtual section will have to be moderated by a person present in Potsdam. It will be chosen by the organizer in consultation with the conference committee.

ROUNDTABLES:

Roundtables are a more open format for group discussions around a specific topic involving a number of active participants and an audience limited by the organizer’s choice. Roundtables can last up to 75 minutes. The Person proposing a roundtable is the responsible organizer and has to be present live in Potsdam. She/He can also invite individuals for live or virtual participation but should leave some room for persons willing to join the session ad hoc at the conference.

Organization: The organizer is required to hand in an abstract until June 15, 2022, containing a title and a content description and, as far as known then, the names of proposed participants. He/she will be notified regarding acceptance of his/her proposal until June 22. A roundtable will start with an incentive oral introduction or a video display presented by the moderator or participants. If the showing of an incentive video is intended the same applies as mentioned under »Video format« at the bottom of the page. It should be forwarded to the conference committee until July 31, 2022, via a file link (e.g. wetransfer.com) to conference2022[at]coh-europe.de.

WORKSHOPS:

Workshops are special events centered on a particular topic with a maximum of 16 live participants in Potsdam exclusively, involving them in some sort of practical exercises. Workshops can take up one or more time slots of 75 minutes. The person proposing a workshop is its organizer. She/He is required to hand in an abstract identifying the workshop by title and a description of the topic with the practical exercises and the intended outcome until June 15, 2022, to conference2022[at]coh-europe.de. He/She will be notified regarding acceptance of the proposal until June 22.

Persons interested can apply for participation as soon as the conference program is known or at the conference itself.

PRESENTATION POSTERS:

Poster Presentations are a special format to present the result of the work of professionals or students, a group, or an organization. The Foyer of the Bank Building in Potsdam will be available during the conference for an exhibit of poster presentations.

Persons proposing a poster presentation should hand in an abstract describing the topic and the format size of the poster until June 15, 2022, to conference2022[at]coh-europe.de. They will be notified regarding the acceptance of their proposal until June 22.

Video format:

Before submitting the video, all organizers must submit an abstract (0.5-1 page) by June 15. With the acceptance of your proposal by the Conference Committee, we will ask you to send a video file. The recording should be done in landscape format and in a quiet environment and not with the back to a window or a light. The video will serve as an emergency backup in case of an internet disturbance or interruption prohibiting the participant concerned to appear in person on the screen. Given her/his consent we will add the recording after the conference to an accessible collection of video materials. All video recordings should be in English, have a maximum duration of 15 minutes, and be forwarded to the Conference Committee until July 31, 2022, via a file link (e.g. wetransfer.com) to conference2022[at]coh-europe.de.

Topics:

Not sure if your topic fits into the conference framework? Human Ecology today addresses the challenges of higher education oriented toward the urgent issues of the future for current and future generations.

Examples of addressing these future issues may come from the following topics, among others:

• Safe food production, food and meal culture.
• Climate impact and resilience in cities and regions
• Sustainable mobility in centers and periphery
• Biodiversity
• Demographic change
• Cultural diversity
• Resource access and distribution equity

Other examples of topics in human ecology:

• Human ecology - theory, methodology, concepts, ideas, history
  
• Human ecology as a bridge between the natural and human sciences and the fine arts
• Human ecology projects - research and practical implementation
• Human ecology approaches to transformative research and teaching at universities

Beyond that, we look forward to your further suggestions and to your contributions and active participation not only from human ecology but from all backgrounds that want to bring new perspectives to higher education.

QUESTIONS:

Questions to the conference committee should be addressed at conference2022[at]coh-europe.de.