26 November 2020
PCST Network and the University of Aberdeen are delighted to confirm that the PCST conference will go ahead as planned on 24-27 May 2021, but as a fully virtual event called PCST2020+1.
In six months’ time the global science communication conference will be taking place around the world simultaneously.
Conference proposals that were accepted for PCST2020 will be carried forward to PCST2020+1 but proposers will have the opportunity to update, amend or withdraw them.
PCST2020+1 will have broadly the same programme as the event originally planned for May 2020, but with the addition of plenary talks, panels, and parallel sessions of papers focused on Covid-19 and its science communication aspects.
The virtual staging will give us the opportunity to include some exciting new elements and to spread some of the activity over a longer period. Participants will be able to engage with the conference before, during and after its formal schedule. In that schedule we will accommodate different time zones as far as possible.
As well as facilitating remote participation, PCST will host face-to-face meetings at regional hubs, where local conditions allow. Participants will be able to follow conference proceedings in groups and hold their own face-to-face discussions.
Registrations for PCST2020 will also be carried forward to PCST2020+1. As we are reducing the registration rate, registered participants will be offered the opportunity of a partial refund or to redirect that to register another person.
Further details on registrations, refunds and associated issues, on the hosting of regional hubs, and on revising accepted conference proposals will be made available in the coming weeks at pcst2020.org, pcst.network and associated social media platforms. Please respond as quickly as you can to requests and offers that will be reaching you.
Help spread the word that PCST2020+1 will be a unique opportunity to share information, ideas and experiences on science communication. Make sure you are ‘there’ and ask your friends and colleagues around the world to join you.
