We have decided to host AFLA 27 on the previously announced dates, August 20–22, 2020, but 100% online. In our attempt to make this AFLA meeting the productive, constructive, and friendly meeting that the AFLA community is known for, we are planning for a synchronous format, with live talks and question sessions, which will be recorded.
Due to the global distribution of our presenters and community, we will try a somewhat non-traditional, around-the-world schedule. Talks will be scheduled into six “blocks” over three days, illustrated here in four relevant (and conveniently evenly spaced) time zones:
| Singapore | Central European Summer Time | North American Eastern Daylight Savings Time | Hawaii | |
| 1 | August 20: 8am–noon | August 20: 2–6am | August 19: 8pm–midnight | August 19: 2–6pm |
| 2 | August 20: 8pm–midnight | August 20: 2–6pm | August 20: 8am–noon | August 20: 2–6am |
| 3 | August 21: 8am–noon | August 21: 2–6am | August 20: 8pm–midnight | August 20: 2–6pm |
| 4 | August 21: 8pm–midnight | August 21: 2–6pm | August 21: 8am–noon | August 21: 2–6am |
| 5 | August 22: 8am–noon | August 22: 2–6am | August 21: 8pm–midnight | August 21: 2–6pm |
| 6 | August 22: 8pm–midnight | August 22: 2–6pm | August 22: 8am–noon | August 22: 2–6am |
Effectively, by design, we expect the schedule to be equally inconvenient for everyone. We think any one person probably can only reasonably attend half of the sessions. Therefore, we plan to also record all talks and have them online, at least for a brief period of time and possibly in perpetuity, depending on the wishes of the presenter(s).
Further details will be announced later. A couple, top questions are addressed below.
We are excited to make this historic online AFLA a success! Please feel free to write the organizers with any suggestions, questions, or concerns.
Questions you might have
Q: How will I present my talk?
A: We will use video conferencing software (likely Zoom), which will allow presenters to give their talk live, and then take questions from the audience. Speakers will be able to share their own computer screen with others, which can be used to present slides or walk through a handout. (For talks with multiple speakers, we will ask that one speaker be in charge of sharing their screen for the whole talk.) We will also post slides and handouts online.
The entire presentation, including question session, will be recorded and posted online, to allow for others in the AFLA community to see your talk.
Each talk will be up to 20 minutes long, followed by 10 minutes for questions. (The five invited talks will be longer.)
Q: Will participants need to pre-register? Will there be a registration fee?
A: We are currently weighing the pros and cons of requiring pre-registration and will announce our decision at a later date. We do not plan to collect any registration fee.
Other questions? Please write us! We will update this FAQ as necessary.