When we launched our CfP back in 2019, the world was a different place. 2020 is not what many of us hoped it would be, the global pandemic being one of the factors that impact us both as individuals and as a society. As you know, due to Corona countermeasures, we were forced to postpone the IASPM Benelux conference “RE-peat, please!,“ to be held in Antwerp in May 2020, to October 2020. Alas, also this cannot be…
Our host, the University of Antwerp, has recently issued the framework under which it will operate during the fall semester of 2020, and it has become clear that holding our conference in October is practically unfeasible. Not only is there the ever-looming danger of a second wave, but we would also need to drastically cut down the number of presenters (due to physical distancing measures), refrain from offering food, and so on. This would defy one of the key aims of our conference, to allow our national and international attendees to connect.
Therefore, we took the difficult decision to postpone our conference once more, pushing it into 2021. Our conference venue is still the University of Antwerp and the new dates are 7–9 October 2021. (Please note that Thursday 7 October will only comprise an evening reception, the actual presentations take place all day on Friday and Saturday.) Our keynotes have confirmed their attendance, and also our conference theme will remain.
Naturally, all invitations to present remain valid, although we understand when a presenter might want to change their proposal to reflect their ongoing research. Also, we understand that some will no longer be able to (be) present, or might not know yet if this will be possible. We sincerely apologise for this inconvenience.
All presenters have been notified by mail. We will get back to everyone sometime in January 2021 to see if they are (1) willing to present, (2) interested in delivering the paper submitted for this year or submit a new proposal (note that this will be accepted automatically unless it fails to address the conference theme).
Once again, accept our apologies for the inconvenience this might cause you. All the best, and stay safe!