NAFEMS World Congress 2021 Moves Online

NAFEMS has made the decision to move next month’s World Congress to an online-only conference. NAFEMS was working toward a hybrid event with a base in Salzburg, Austria, feeding out to an online platform, but for several reasons, according to the organization, including increasing concern from a significant number of presenters and delegates, NAFEMS has determined that this will not be feasible.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, NAFEMS says its focus has been on “continuing our work in the safest and most effective way possible, in much the same way as we advocate the use of CAE. There is an appetite for an 'in-person' event like the World Congress, and we have worked hard for the past year to achieve this.”

The organization adds: “This close to the Congress, however, with the prospect of still-changing travel restrictions, the rise of the delta variant, and differing vaccine uptake rates worldwide, we have decided that it would be irresponsible to attempt to coordinate a global event under the circumstances. We could not, in good conscience, satisfy ourselves that delegate safety would be ensured, and for that reason, we could not continue down that path.”

Now the focus is on working to transform the online congress experience into something engaging for its community of attendees.

Please note the following:

• If you have previously registered as an onsite participant, either as a presenter or a delegate, NAFEMS will re-issue the invoice as an online registration. If you have already paid for your place, NAFEMS will automatically refund the difference between the onsite and online amounts.
• If you have registered to present onsite, NAFEMS will be in touch to discuss options for an online presentation. You can either present live online, or submit a pre-recorded presentation. NAFEMS has extended the deadline for this until September 30th.
• If you have already booked a hotel room or travel for your time in Salzburg, you need to cancel that directly through your provider.

Feel free to view the FAQ on the NAFEMS website; for further questions, contact NAFEMS at nwc21@nafems.org. NAFEMS asks that anyone with questions to check the website first. 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.

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