Applying to Host the Event

Introduction

Eurographics has decided that the venues of future Eurographics conferences should be a mixture of proven sites used in the past and new sites which will provide a wider geographic coverage in Europe. On one hand easy reachability and short travel times are an important aspect for many attendees. On the other hand, delegates enjoy visiting new venues and one of the aims is to provide good coverage of all European countries. A significant proportion of attendees are expected to come from the local country. Consequently, a wider choice of venues helps to increase the awareness of Eurographics in Europe and may help local activities to get started.

Structure of Local Organisation

This divides into two main parts, both of which must be clearly identified when applying to host the event:

• Local Organising Committee: responsible for technical aspects of the programme, such as invitations to speakers, tutorials, conference programme, etc. It has become a practice in the past years to share the load and the responsibilities of the various chairmanships (Programme Chairman, Tutorial Chairman, etc.) between a local person and a person outside the country. Although this is by no means required by Eurographics, this also gives the possibility to include in the committee some Eurographics officers, or persons who are already familiar through previous events.
• Local Organiser: this is the organisation responsible for detailed management and execution of administrative functions, such as planning meetings, booking facilities, design, printing, publicity, registration of attendees, accounting, staffing the event, maintaining the conference Web site, etc. The Local Organiser will often be a local conference company with experience of running events of this type. Alternatively it may be a large institution with adequate expertise and resources to undertake such a task. The Local Organiser will be required to sign a contract with the Eurographics Association concerning the organisation of the event. The contract will be in English and usually governed by the law of the country where the conference takes place.

Making an Application

The Eurographics Conference Steering Committee is currently responsible for planning and monitoring each Annual Event. The Committee makes recommendations to the Eurographics Executive Committee for the sites for future events. Sites are usually chosen in response to applications from countries wishing to host the Annual Event, although specific countries may be invited to host a Eurographics Conference in a particular year. In either case, a decision on the venue is the responsibility of the Executive Committee of Eurographics. Once a site has been agreed, Eurographics appoints a Conference Monitoring Officer for the event who is responsible for monitoring the progress of the event and acts as the interface between Eurographics and the conference in all matters.

The applicant is responsible for all financial aspects, take all risk and all profit of the overall organisation of the Conference and hold Eurographics free from any claims. It should be borne in mind, however, that the intention is to break even. Eurographics will collect a flat fee of 30 Euros for every participant, including participants with reduced and free registrations. Eurographics highly recommends that the local organiser considers taking advantage of the Eurographics Registration and E-payment system for registration.

To apply please use the Application Form provided which shows the information needed by Eurographics to reach a decision. The main items are the location, the costs, the choice of Local Organiser, and the composition of the Local Organising Committee. As far as possible, the Local Organising Committee should be specified at the time of the application (but not the international cochairs). The individuals on the Committee will need to allocate a significant part of their time to the activity during the two years prior to the event. Large conferences cannot be organised using casual time that may or may not become available. Timescales have to be adhered to if success is to be ensured and this entails a commitment of time during the working week.