Disruptions due to COVID-19 provide an opportunity to think carefully about what the CogSci conference might look like in the future. One possible change is to hold local events around the world in conjunction with the gathering at the main conference site. Local events may be especially important for members who would be otherwise unable to participate, including early career researchers, researchers without travel funding, international researchers, and researchers who cannot travel because of professional or family obligations. Local events may also provide one way to reduce the environmental impact of the conference.

2021 meetups

The format and structure of each meetup is at the discretion of the local organizer – different models might work well in different places and may afford an opportunity for experimentation and innovation. Below are some possible options that can be adjusted as needed.

Future years

This year’s meetup groups are a simple place to start, but in future years we might consider regional in-person conference hubs that are connected to each other and to the main conference site. A discussion of this possibility is available in:

The Photonics Online Meetup is one example of a successful event involving local hubs. For more information see:

If you have ideas about future local events, please get in touch with any member of the the Local Planning Group ( Dave Barner, Stephanie Denison and Charles Kemp ).