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When am I going to know?

E

Hello everybody. I need your opinions on something.
I have sent a proposal to an international conference. It was accepted and I paid the registration. The conference is on the 8th of July (in a few days) and I still don't know when I am going to make my presentation. I have emailed the organising committee twice and got the same response "we forward your message to the appropriate people".
How long does it take? I am losing my patience. And there is also the practical issue. I have to make travel arrangements, I have to prepare my presentation (I can't go there on the first day and being told "Emmaki you are presenting in 30 minutes")....

P

Yes, it can be massively annoying not getting an answer back. Just email them again (and again, and again - every day maybe, considering it's so soon) and say that you have not heard back from them and you need to make travel arrangements (and other arrangements?)and need to know details of your time slot. Do you know how long your presentation is supposed to be?
Just keep the pressure up with regular emails and clear language (that "you need to know asap).

B

Horrible situation for you, and not a good reflection on the conference organisers. When I attended an international conference several years ago the conference programme (including times and titles of all talks) was up on the web several weeks / a month before the conference, so I knew when my slot was. In practice I had to be there for the whole thing (travelling from a very long way away - across the Atlantic!), but I still appreciated knowing what was happening in advance.

Good luck and hope you hear what you need soon.

A

I've been to things where you don't know when you are presenting till you arrive. Everyone just makes sure they are ready from day 1. Not saying this is what will happen, but couldn't you prepare for the 1st day? Wouldn't you rather be able to get the most out of the other aspects of the conference rather than needing to work on your presentation? If it's international I assume registration would be the night before, so you'd get a pack that would tell you then, so it's not going to be a case of you walk in the door and you're on.

Personally I wouldn't keep chasing them. You don't want to be the person who hassled the organisers.

I'm not saying I would organise a conference in that way, or that it's right, but it might not be insurmountable.

E

Of course I am ready for my presentation, but it still is a problem. A draft programme has been announced, but my name is not in there and I am very frustrated. My proposal was accepted since September and my registration is paid since April!!!!!!!!
I think that I will keep sending them emails everyday, even if I keep receiving the same fixed answer ("Your question has been forwarded to the appropriate people"!!!)........
And hopefuly I will get an answer before the first day.............

R

How about ringing "them"?
Could well be frustrating as well, yet may be more productive as repeating e-mails.

:-)

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