Conference EOI

Guidelines for APNME Conference Proposal

The Asia-Pacific Network for Moral Education (APNME) (www.apnme.org) brings together a focused group of educators and practitioners from various disciplines, and with specific interests in the Asia-Pacific region, to facilitate in-depth discussions, the sharing of perspectives, and the exchange of ideas with regard to teaching and learning in the areas of ethical and moral education, values education and citizenship education. It fulfils this aim primarily through its webinars and the annual conference. Kindly submit your proposals to secretary@apnme.org.

  1. Proposal to host an APNME Conference

APNME is interested in receiving proposals from academic institutions in the Asia-Pacific Region to host the APNME annual conference. APNME expects to receive proposals at least 8 to 10 months before the intended conference. Each proposal will be evaluated by the APNME Committee for acceptance, taking account of the suitability, accessibility and safety of the venue, the local environment and other criteria, including, in particular, the matters to be included in the conference proposal as stated below.

  1. Content of conference proposals

Each proposal should address the following:

  1. The intended conference venue (at or near the host institution, and accessible by normal means of transportation).

  2. The approximate intended date of the conference and indicative timeline of key dates before the conference.

  3. Target/estimated number of participants, grouped as to local/international and professional/students.

  4. Suggestions for conference rationale, theme(s), topics, objective(s) etc. (previous APNME conference themes should be considered here).

  5. The financial viability of, and source(s) of funding for, the conference (whether solely/primarily with conference fees or with significant institutional support, sponsors, etc.); provisions for students, unsalaried and other exceptional cases; names or categories of people for whom Conference fees will be waived, and/or travel/accommodation/other expenses paid. A provisional conference budget is highly desirable.

  6. A clear plan to deal with financial contingencies (distributing any surplus/covering any loss), noting that APNME cannot cover any shortfall.

  7. Intended structure of conference (whether keynote speakers are to be invited; number of concurrent sessions, type of presentations solicited, etc.), with justifications, noting that the Overall Conference Committee (see below) has the final say in this regard and that the membership of the OCC will be decided by the APNME Committee.

  8. Accommodation options (including a range of prices, type of accommodation offered, etc.), and whether meals (including any banquet/special dinner) are included.

  9. Plan to produce conference proceedings or other post-conference publication (in addition to a Conference programme booklet).

  10. Interaction with local community (any workshops, school visits, cultural activities, etc.).

  11. Plans to promote the conference locally and/or more widely (including web possibilities and links to APNME and related websites).

  12. Names of individuals from the host institution who: (i) would serve on the Local Organizing Committee, (ii) are nominated to serve on the OCC, and (iii) are nominated to serve on the Programme Committee (see below; note that (ii) and (iii) will be decided by the APNME Committee).

  13. Details of any governmental, university, sponsoring body or other permissions or authorisations to be obtained or requirements or conditions to be fulfilled or documentation provided in connection with the Conference.

  1. Conference Committees:

Overall Conference Committee (OCC)

The APNME Committee, working through the Executive Committee, will establish an Overall Conference Committee (OCC). The OCC will:

  1. will establish a Programme Committee (PC), and coordinate with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), to be established by the host institution).

  2. determine the area of responsibility of each of the Programme Committee (PC) and the Local Organising Committee (LOC).

  3. review and approve all aspects of the conference and its organisation.

  4. ensure that the conference is consistent with APNME guidelines, constitution and practices.

  5. respond to requests from the PC, the LOC and, if required, the APNME Committee itself (which retains ultimate authority in all conference matters).

The OCC will normally consist of 4-6 members drawn appropriately from the APNME Committee and the LOC.

Programme Committee (PC)

The Programme Committee will:

  1. plan all aspects of the conference programme, including: the call for, and receipt and peer review of, abstracts to ensure the quality of presentations and the overall integrity of the conference (including communication with presenters, as necessary, both to acknowledge receipt of their proposal and to inform them of the outcome of its review).

  2. publish all information either online or in hard copy (posters, etc.).

  3. take responsibility for drafting the form and timing of the various Conference sessions, the allocation of presenters and overall creation of the programme.

  4. coordinate with the LOC on the production of printed materials (including the programme booklet).

  5. create an evaluation form which the LOC will distribute to all Conference participants.

Local Organising Committee (LOC)

The Local Organising Committee will:

  1. oversee all local arrangements and facilities, including promotion of the Conference, the conference venue, accommodation for participants, catering arrangements, ICT arrangements, receipt of conference registration forms and fees and, where appropriate, accommodation costs, travel and visa information, and recruitment of volunteers to assist with on-site registration and act as guides for visitors, etc.

  2. manage the Conference finances, issue receipts for all payments received and keep a record of all income and expenditure relating to the Conference. A statement of accounts will be provided to the APNME Committee within two months following the completion of the conference. Financial arrangements may be specified in a written agreement between the host institution and APNME. The conference registration fee will be set by the OCC, on the advice of the LOC, with a view to ensuring that the conference runs within the agreed budget. The fee will include a subscription to APNME (of an amount to be set by APNME).

  3. also provide webpage/ site for and host a Conference website on which it will publish content approved by the PC/OCC; after the conference, the website will be archived on APNME’s website.

In accepting the institution’s proposal to host an APNME conference, APNME is placing trust in it (and the LOC) to make the necessary arrangements, largely by itself and as it sees fit in accordance with local circumstances, contexts and conditions, but also in accordance with APNME’s conference culture/these guidelines and under the direction of the OCC.

It will be the responsibility of all committees involved to ensure open, regular and frequent lines of communication (e.g. the LOC and PC reporting to the OCC, and the OCC reporting to the APNME Committee/Executive Committee, with each requesting information, support, guidance and advice, as required). While it is presumed that the LOC will meet in person as required, the other committees (whose working language shall be English) may organise appropriate forms of telephone/online communication.

  1. Timeline of Conference organisation

The proposed date of the conference will be agreed by the APNME Committee and adhered to, as far as practicable, by the various conference committees described above. The call for papers will be issued at least 5 to 6 months prior to the conference, and the closing date will be 3 to 4 months before the conference.

Notification of acceptance of abstracts and/or requests for alterations to abstracts will be sent to abstract proposers at least 3 months before the date of the conference. At the same time, the PC/ LOC will issue an official letter of invitation to those whose abstracts have been accepted, to participate in the conference and present either a paper, joint symposium, roundtable or poster (subject to the guidelines determined by the OCC). In the case of a symposium or round table presentation, the relevant committee will communicate with the named chairperson.

  1. Proposal and abstract submission

Abstract submission will consist of two parts, namely: a 300-words summary, being the proposal for the review process, and a 100-word abstract for publication in the Programme booklet. The PC may elect to request that both the summary and the abstract be submitted together or only request the abstract once the proposal has been accepted (and revised, if necessary). Abstracts should include the title of the presentation, the name, title and affiliation of each author, plus the email address of the corresponding author. Abstracts must be written in clear English with proper grammatical expression. It is the responsibility of the author(s) to ensure a satisfactory standard of English. The PC reserves the right to request clarification/more information from author(s) and its decision is final.

  1. Conference culture

APNME has sought to establish itself as a reflective learning community with its own moral framework of care, hospitality, trust, openness to and respect for others’ viewpoints, traditions and practices in a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural conference environment. Its aim is to nurture diverse and shared philosophical, psychological, sociological, educational, inter-disciplinary and practical paradigms and perspectives in an interdependent world.

These are guidelines only and are not binding; they may be adjusted by the OCC (with approval by the APNME Committee) to suit specific contexts and circumstances.

Download the guidelines: APNME Conference Proposal Guidelines