SciComm Conference Organizing

Interested in learning more about hosting conferences? You can contact the Conference Oversight Committee (COC) directly with the GNSI Contact form and select the GNSI Conference category (you are not committing to anything by doing so!)

GNSI Conferences are created and run by an organized group of volunteers, a Conference Planning Team. A conference team is organized 1.5 - 2 years in advance and a location is chosen. You can read about this process in a short series of article on making a conference happen:

Conference Articles 

What Conference Planning is About:  Hey kids, let's put on a Conference! The process is similar when conferences are held virtually, though all the in person mechanics are dropped or adapted to online needs.

The Geography of the GNSI: The location of a conference, can vary widely. This article discusses some of the details on making the location decision.

GNSI Conference: Making Social Connections: One of the main purposes of a conference is to make connections. This article discusses that goal.

GNSI Conference’s Role in Re-defining Scientific Illustration as a Profession. The purpose of conferencing is to improve your skills!

Visual SciComm Conference List: You can view past GNSI conferences and their locations and websites here: https://www.gnsi.org/annual-conferences

Conference Locations

We depend on members and associates to suggest conference locations. If you have an idea for a great conference location, and some basic info on what might be available at the location or institution, help the GNSI by entering at least some of the information of this google doc form (which can hold a lot of extra info if you have it): GNSI Conference Scouting Form

Conference Volunteer Positions

Learn more about what needs to be accomplished with a Description of Volunteer Positions.

Conference Machinery

GNSI Conferences are supported through the Conference Oversight Committee (COC). 

COC Mission

The main goal of the Conference Oversight Committee (COC) is the recruitment of conference organizers including Chairs, and potential locations for future conferences. The COC will act as a liaison between the Conference Planning Team and the GNSI Board.

The COC maintains the knowledge and machinery responsible for Conference events.  A Conference Planning Team is guided with the help of the COC. The COC is not responsible for actually doing conference work, only advising and mentoring the Conference Planning Team. As a mentoring body, the COC, and especially Team Liaisons, are not required to step in and take over tasks that the Conference Planning Team cannot, for whatever reason, accomplish. In the event of any problems, the COC would help secure new Team members, and if needed appeal to the GNSI Board of Directors, which is ultimately responsible for conference development.

Conference Organizing Resources

Interested in learning more about how conferences are organized? Check out the GNSI Conference Handbook. This online document describes our pre-pandemic process for in-person meetings: https://sites.google.com/site/gnsiconfhandbook/

Contact

You can contact the Conference Oversight Committee (COC) directly with the GNSI Contact form and select the GNSI Conference category.