Dear colleagues,
We are very sorry to inform you that, following careful consideration between the ESPAnet board and the organising team at KU Leuven, we have decided to cancel the ESPAnet conference 2020.
For ESPAnet, it is important that its annual conferences are held with the greatest safety possible and that researchers from all countries can participate. The ESPAnet board and the local organisers have serious concerns that all borders across Europe will be open ensuring inclusive participation by the start of the conference. Additionally, even if borders were open, we do not know whether large events such as conferences will be allowed, and some participants might feel uncomfortable to travel and/or participate in large conferences. Given these exceptional circumstances, we have regretfully decided to cancel this year’s annual conference.
To support early-career researchers in this critical time, we will, however, look into the possibilities of organising alternative (e.g. online) seminars for PhD students. PhD students often depend on the feedback they receive from senior scholars at conferences and they need to demonstrate participation in international conferences. Therefore, in the days following the Easter break we will be in touch with stream convenors and the ESPAnet community on how to go about this. As part of this process, we will provide PhD students who had not yet submitted an abstract the opportunity to do so. More information will be made available soon on the espanet.org website, and the usual email lists.
Further, we would like to inform you that the local organisers in Leuven will organise the ESPAnet 2021 conference, which will take place from 1-3 September. A new call for stream proposals will be published this fall as usual.
We appreciate that many ESPAnet members and the KU Leuven organising team have already put a substantial amount of work into preparing for the ESPAnet conference. We thank you for these efforts, and we look forward to being able to our continued cooperation over the coming months and years.
Stay safe and healthy in these challenging times.
With best wishes,
The ESPAnet board
