Side events provide organisations with the opportunity to launch initiatives, promote projects or programmes, and products or services. They are also the perfect occasion for organising panel discussions on specific topics and for showcasing professional networks and associations. Organisations or individuals interested in hosting side events are requested to familiarise themselves with the rules below and complete the application form.

The side events will be distributed throughout the congress days (Monday midday to Wednesday) with a maximum of 90 minutes per event.

Your side event may be highlighted in the congress programme and website if it is made up of an alternative format including, but not limited to, those suggested below. These submissions focus on a participant-driven session. Your strategies must be outlined in detail in your submission.

Request for Alternative Presentation Styles:

The EHP Congress Planning Committee is encouraging proposals for innovative workshop sessions that emphasize participants involvement and contribute to the creation of an informative and exciting event programme. We will give priority to proposals with a format that allows the audience to connect with and learn about important topics in a new way.
Proposals under Alternative Presentation Styles should specify the presentation topic, the name and attributes of the format, the benefit for audience, and an explanation of the choice of session type in relation to the content of the presentation. (Note: Some format types are much shorter than our 60- or 90-minute session lengths. If we do not get enough short-session proposals to create a full session, we will reach out to you to consider another format.)
When considering an Alternative Presentation Style, please keep in mind that some alternative formats pose different challenges than traditional presentation formats. Alternative sessions often entail significant planning, coordination, and facilitation skills. We encourage experience (or lots of practice if you’re new to the format) to ensure a smooth-running and well-received session. Since these formats will often be new to the audience as well, please plan an introduction that ensures they too have the information they need to effectively engage with and learn from the session.

Examples of Alternative Presentation Formats:

World Café

The World Café is a format designed to encourage a flow of conversation between participants, facilitate broad audience participation, and enable a more sustained discussion. Attendees are seated at tables with four-to-six participants per table in an informal, café-style setting. The World Café begins with a brief introduction and a “big” question, which attendees are asked to discuss (generally for about 15 minutes). Once the time is up, all-but-one of the participants from each table move to a different table and repeat the process. The person who stays functions as a “table host” and summarizes what was discussed during the previous rounds. After a couple of rounds of discussions, key points from each table are presented to the whole group for a final collective discussion. There are many iterations on this format.

Campfire Session

Campfire Sessions begin a lot like a traditional presentation, with a speaker (or multiple speakers) presenting an idea to a group of people. After 15 or 20 minutes, however, the focus shifts from the presenter to the audience. The goal is the creation of an open forum in which the attendees generate the majority of the discussion and knowledge sharing. For the remainder of the session, the presenter becomes a facilitator, inviting responses to comments and questions from those around the room and letting the audience dictate the ultimate direction of the conversation. Campfire sessions allow attendees to drive their own learning, listen to multiple perspectives on the same issue, and share experiences with individuals throughout the room. Campfire sessions also lend themselves to networking. Experience with group facilitation is recommended!

Panel Session

Panel sessions are a great way to get more than one expert opinion on a topic in a short amount of time. Panels often consist of three-to-five speakers discussing a specific topic or challenge in a conversation moderated by a session chair. Panels tend to be more open and interactive than traditional presentations as panellists often take different perspectives and offer different solutions to problems. These sessions are great for public conversations on issues that are common to many audience members.

Storytelling

Storytelling is an ancient discipline, constituting as well engaging workshop format. As guideline stories should last about 15 minutes and another 10 minutes should be provided for Q&A. Please make sure that stories are consistent with at least one of the conference tracks. They should also reflect on the authentic experience of an individual, a team, or a community. For example, a story session could be about how a community became a sustainability champion. Consider submitting with a partner. Three stories are perfect for one 90-minute presentation.

7-14-28 Presentations

In this format speakers have a 7-minute time limit for their presentations, which should include no more than 14 slides with a font size no smaller than 28-point for any text. 7-14-28 allows speakers to focus on the essentials of their subject, while offering the audience a chance to enjoy multiple presentations in one sitting. We hope that at least 5 proposals to make this format a go!

The side event room will be equipped as follows:

a max of 100 theatre style seating capacity, one screen, one projector, a sound system and up to three microphones.
Any additional costs for AV, catering or interpretation/ translation, will be borne by the side event organiser.

Please note: each participant of the Euroheat & Power Congress and side event(s) must be registered and have paid the corresponding registration fee to gain access to the event.

Side event host opportunities will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Euroheat & Power’s Secretariat is the ultimate decision maker for granting permission for a side event.
All applicants are required to fill in the application form and send it to [email protected] before 15^th January 2019. No applications will be considered after this date.

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