Answering the Call for Papers!

Welcome to Planners Pointers! 

Each month I like to share words commonly used by professionals. The words along with their meaning will be from the APEX Industry Glossary.

The ConventionIndustry Council is the organization of 33 associations coming together to exchange information among the meetings, convention and exhibitions industry. One of the initiatives is APEX, Accepted Practices Exchange to develop practices that reach industry wide. One of the practices is a glossary of terms used in the industry. The goal of the glossary is to standardize the definitions of words used by the meetings industry.

When you attend a conference do you even wonder how panels are determined?  Sometimes management companies who represent speakers send information.  Sometimes program committee members will suggest speakers that they heard at other conferences.  Often times though many organization issue  a  "Call for Papers."  The definition of a "Call for Papers" is   1) An invitation to submit topic ideas for the conference program. 2) Document containing detailed instructions for submission of papers for assessment and selection by a review committee; often referred to as “Abstract Forms.” Also known as "Call for Presentations".

When a potential speakers responds what is usually included in the response is a" Curriculum Vitae" (Also known as a CV meaning a short account of one's career and qualifications) or resume.  They will also include an  "Abstract" of their presentation.  An "Abstract" means written summaries of speeches or papers, generally between 200 - 500 words or a brief statement of content.

At a conference along with scheduled sessions maybe a "Poster Session."  A "Poster Session" is :  1) Display of reports and papers, usually scientific, accompanied by authors or researchers. 2) A session dedicated to the discussion of the posters shown inside the meeting area. When this discussion is not held in a special session, it can take place directly between the person presenting the poster and interested delegate(s).

The posters are often mounted on "Abstract Board."  An Abstract Board is usually rolling corkboards used for attaching copies of research papers for authors to discuss with participants. Sometimes people use foam core for their poster and then use easels like the picture.

Planner's Pointers is written by, Mary Pam Kilgore, CMP of Kilgore Events and Meetings.  You may reach me through my website www.kilgoreeventsandmeetings.com You can find my blog at http://plannerspointers.blogspot.com/  You can reach me by phone at 412-260-4178.  Follow me on Twitter @marypam.