Symposia vs. Colloquia: What’s the Difference?

• Symposia are of broad, interdisciplinary, cross-society interest. They are limited to six speakers, and talks are 30 minutes each. The number of symposia is limited to six. Funding for approved symposia is generally $2000-$4000.
• Colloquia are on more narrow topics, perhaps of interest to a particular section or society. Colloquia can include no more than two 30-minute talks. All other talks are 15 minutes. The total number of talks can vary from 8 (with two 30-minute talks) to 12 (all 15-minute talks). In the past, there has been no limit on the number of colloquia.

Please note that colloquia are intended to draw participants from conference attendees and not to rely on external invited speakers. Consistent with this, funding for colloquia is generally limited, not exceeding more than $200-$300 total.

• Symposia and colloquia speakers will be required to submit an abstract for their talk (when the abstract submission site opens) and register for the meeting. No formal invitations can or should be extended at this time. Selected speakers will be required to adhere to the Conference Code of Conduct and will be held to high ethical standards. 

Proposals for these sessions should include: 

• The name, institution, and email addresses of organizers.
• The title of the symposium/colloquium.
• An abstract/synopsis (400 words). This should describe the topic/content only. Please note that this will be used as the abstract in the program.
• A brief explanation (150 words) of why this topic is appropriate for a Botany conference symposium/colloquium.
• For symposia, a tentative list of six speakers with up to two alternates, including institutional affiliations, topics, career stage, axes of diversity (as applicable), and an indication of which have committed to participate.

Please note that when preparing proposals, organizers are expected to consider gender, seniority, nationality, and all other axes of diversity traditionally underrepresented in conference symposia and to describe their efforts in the proposal. We seriously consider the diversity of participants as a criterion for symposium funding. We encourage proposals whose topics concern newly emerging fields, are synthetic, or that differ from those that have been included in recent Botany meetings. We also encourage proposals that include outstanding student and Postdoc speakers.

• A budget estimate with justification. Symposium funds are intended to be used to defray costs for participants who otherwise would not be able to attend the conference. See note above about colloquium funding.
• Click here to submit a Symposium proposal and click here to submit a Colloquium proposal. If you experience any issues with submission, please contact johanne@botany.org.

Proposals are due October 1, 2024. Please note this is a HARD deadline. There will be no extensions.
Workshop Proposals are due December 15, 2024