Conference Update – 16 March 2020

Dear CAPPA/ACPAP Colleagues,

The university, government, and civil society responses to the spread of COVID-19 are progressing rapidly. CAPPA/ACPAP’s Executive Committee has been monitoring these responses and considering what they could mean for our Annual Research Conference, scheduled to be held May 31-June 2 at Western University.  On Friday, I was part of a conference call with the Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences (the Federation), in which we heard about their work to date and were able to talk with other associations about key issues and considerations for us all when thinking about how to proceed (or not) with the Annual Congress.  An update on that work and their considerations is available here: http://www.congress2020.ca/novel-coronavirus-covid-19-and-congress-2020

It is very likely that the Federation will be making a decision this week about how to proceed with the Congress.  There are many considerations for us as an Association as well, outside of the Federation’s decision-making process.  Your CAPPA/ACPAP Executive will be meeting with Western’s lead conference organizer tomorrow (Tuesday) to talk through the issues and options facing us, and to sketch out a plan to move forward.  We’ll be communicating this as soon as we possibly can with all of you.

Thank you for your patience as we work through these issues, while also waiting to hear from the Federation about what is possible and what is feasible from their perspective.  If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Take care,

Andrea Rounce (On behalf of the CAPPA/ACPAP Board)