Dear ASPO members,
It is really unfortunate, but we had to cancel the onsite ASPO conference 2021 in Tilburg December 16-17 because of the current COVID situation. Strictly speaking, we might still be able to convene during the days, but given all the restrictions it will not bring us the ASPO spirit we seek. More importantly, many of us would agree that—given the situation—it is not the right moment to organise such an event.
In order to reach a number of goals that are central to ASPO, such as strengthening the network of social psychology, sharing knowledge, and providing a podium for our members, we decided to do the following three things instead:
First, we will organise an online afternoon session on Thursday December 16. This allows us to hold our annual members’ meeting, to put the winner of the ASPO dissertation in the spotlight, and to have some fun together during the ASPO pub quiz, which is becoming a new tradition. Last year, the Radboud team won the ASPO pub quiz cup for a year. Which group will win the competition this year? Please team up and join.
The afternoon of December 16 will look like this:
- 14.00 hour: members’ meeting (leden jaarvergadering)
- 14.45 hours: break
- 15.00 hours: welcome to ASPO online meeting 2021
- 15.10 hours: ASPO dissertation award session
- 15.40 hours: break(-out room possibilities)
- 16.00 hours: The yearly 12 ASPO pub quiz
- 17.00+ hours: Winner of the quiz and closing
Second, in order to provide an online podium for those who were scheduled to speak at this year’s ASPO conference, we will distribute the summaries of their talks to all our members and provide the opportunity for speakers to add a web-link to a video to the summary. We think that it is a nice opportunity to share your research with other ASPO members in 5-minute knowledge clips. An email by the conference organisation with further instructions will be sent shortly to all speakers.
Third, as this is the second conference in a row that is cancelled in December, we plan to host an ASPO event in a season that is less haunted by COVID-19. We are currently preparing an “ASPO Spring Event”, to take place at the end of May or early June. This will enable us to meet face-to-face, talk, and discuss and share ideas. This is important for all members, but particularly for our PhD members as it provides an opportunity to present their work. Presenters of the ASPO 2021 conference who are interested are given opportunity to present their work during that event (in addition to the opportunity to circulate a link of a knowledge clip in December). More information about this event will follow at a later date.
For now, we hope for your understanding of the decision to cancel the face-to-face part of the upcoming ASPO conference. We wish you all the best and are looking forward to seeing you online on December 16.