THE CALL FOR ABSTRACTS FOR THE 2021 CONFERENCE HAS NOW CLOSED.

The committee will be in touch shortly on your progress, and with updates on the program and presentation times.

2021 Call for Abstracts are now open

The Conference Organising Committee is pleased to invite presenters to submit the abstracts for oral presentations; poster presentations and hands-on workshops, to be delivered at the conference. Please follow our guidelines below to submit your abstract correctly. Before commencing the submission process, please note:

  • Submissions must be written in English.
  • Online submission is the only method of abstract submission.
  • Abstracts submitted for presentation will be published exactly as received and should be checked for spelling and grammar prior to submission.
  • It is the responsibility of the presenter / author to ensure that the abstract is submitted correctly.
  • Abstracts must be submitted in the template format provided.
  • Where there is more than one presenter all correspondence will be sent to the person who submitted the abstract.
  • Every effort will be made to accommodate the presenter / author presentation preference however the Conference Program Committee (CPC) reserves the right to allocate the presentation to best suit the program.
  • The invitation to submit an abstract does not constitute an offer to pay travel, accommodation or registration costs associated with the Conference. Similarly, no presenter fee is paid to successful presenters.

 

ROUND 1 submissions close on 30 April 2021.

This date is ideal for those who like to get in early, benefit from additional promotion and lock your attendance in early. 

 

ROUND 2 submissions close on 21 May 2021.

This date allows those who require some additional time to complete the abstract so you don’t miss out.

 

FINAL ROUND 3 submissions close on 4 June 2021.

This final extension round for WALGA abstracts – and anyone who else who hasn’t submitted as yet!

 

Please see below for submission process, general policy and guidelines. 

     

    Key Dates

     

    Abstract submissions open Wednesday, 30 September 2020 
    ROUND 1 Abstract submissions close Friday, 30 April 2021
    ROUND 2 Abstract submissions close Friday, 21 May 2021
    Notification of abstract acceptance Wednesday, 16 June 2021
    Program published Thursday, 1 July 2021
    Deadline for presenters to register / Early Bird registration closes Friday, 16 July 2021
    Deadline for submission AV (PowerPoint presentations) to support oral presentations Monday, 20  September 2021

    Submission Guidelines & Process

    There is a two-step process for abstract submission. Please follow the instructions below carefully to ensure your submission is correct and included in the evaluation process.

    You must complete this two-step process for each submission you wish to make. 

    Please note: by submitting an abstract, authors agree to the General Policies and Requirements  and the Speaker/Author Agreement.

     

    STEP 1 – FILL IN THE ABSTRACT TEMPLATE

    Please complete the abstract template, which will assist you in formatting, structuring and naming your abstract correctly. Abstracts must be submitted using this template, if sufficient information is not provided it will be rejected. 

    Please do not alter the structure/formatting of the template, simply fill in the editable sections as required, to be eligible for review. Once complete, the template should meet the following criteria:

    • Must clearly state the objectives and outcomes of the proposed presentation
    • Provide your abstract (maximum 300 words)
    • Provide a clear and consise title (maximum 120 characters)
    • Provide a short biography of the presenter(s) / author(s) (maximum 100 words)
    • This document must be saved in Microsoft Word format. The file must be “surname_initial”.doc (e.g. Smith_J.doc).
    • If submitting more than one abstract add a number after your initial, 1 for your first abstract, 2 for the second abstract etc (e.g. Smith_J1.Doc, Smith_J2.doc)

    Click here to download the Abstract template. Presenters / Authors unable to submit online should contact the Conference Organiser to make alternative arrangements via events@partnerandprosper.com.au 

    STEP 2 – ONLINE SUBMISSION

    Please upload the completed abstract template via our online form. There no login required to submit your abstract online. You will be required to provide the following details on the form:

    • Presentation Type (preference only) of 20 minute oral research OR practitioner presentation; 5 minute poster presentation, or hands-on workshop  (30, 60 or 120 minute)
    • Theme and most relevant adaptive cycle phase
    • Name and Organisation of all Co-Presenters / Co-Authors

    If you make a mistake, please re-submit and add a comment in the Notes section

    If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Conference Organising Office, details as above

    On completion of your submission you will receive a confirmation email with your unique record ID and the file name of your submission. 

    • Abstracts must contain original work that has no prior ownership or copyright restrictions.
    • Abstracts that do not contain sufficient information will be rejected.
    • All abstracts must be prepared accordance to the guidelines provided. Incomplete or incorrect submissions will be returned to the author and must be re-submitted in the correct format to be considered for inclusion in the program.
    • If the abstract is selected, consent is provided for the presentation slides (for oral presenters); video; audio recording and photos taken during the oral presentation/poster presentation to be used and published by AAEE 2021 including being provided to delegates of AAEE 2021.
    • Submission of your abstract/s implies you have read, understood and comply with the Terms and Conditions as outlined on this website.
    • Abstracts must be submitted by the presenting author who should complete all fields on the online submission form.
    • The person submitting the information must be one of the presenters.
    • The person submitting the abstract should be the nominated main contact of your abstract. All correspondence relating to the submission will be directed to this person, and they should in turn distribute to any other co-presenters.
    • If you are submitting more than one abstract a separate submission must be made for each one.
    • Presenting authors must register to attend the conference for a minimum of one full day of the conference on which they are presenting.

    During the submission process you will be asked to nominate one of the following session themes you would like your presentation to be considered for: 

    • Exploitation
    • Conservation
    • Release
    • Reorganisation

    Please read below for further context on these themes and the proposed topics for discussion.

    Conference Theme

    The overarching conference theme is “Mandjoogoordap: Changing Tides”. Mandjoogoordap means “meeting place of the heart” in the indigenous Noongar language of the region, and changing tides can represent the need for change, the inevitability of change as with natural tidal cycles, or the positive changes resulting from Education for Sustainability efforts. Combined, Mandjoogoordap: Changing Tides is a concept that aims to showcase examples of people coming together to create positive change through environmental education. Our intention is to turn this conference moment into a movement by challenging old thinking and fostering innovation, collaboration, resilience and genuinely effective action. If you have a program, project or research that does just that, then we want to hear about it!

     

    Conference Structure

    The conference structure will showcase the Adaptive Cycle – a tool for thought that provides insight into understanding resilience in social-ecological systems by describing how those systems change over time. Over the course of the conference, we will be taken on a journey around the four phases of the Adaptive Cycle to learn first-hand how those phases relate to developing resilience in our environmental education efforts:

    • Growth/exploitation
      This stage of the cycle is the strengthening of structures and connections within the system, or an accumulation of wealth or resources. It reflects the “way of life” that has been operating successfully for a long time. When applied to environmental education, this phase might reflect the research or programs that have built a strong following and gained momentum over time, and are still continuing to expand their reach and influence.
    • Conservation
      This stage of the cycle comes after the initial growth stage, where things start to slow or plateau. An example of this stage as it relates to education for sustainability could be a program that has previously been running for a long time with huge success, but in more recent times enthusiasm for the program has started to slow and attracting new participants is becoming harder and harder. The project is no longer building momentum, but instead just preserving what it has already built.
    • Release/Collapse
      This phase comes after the slowing of the Conservation phase, and is the collapse of the system as it is currently known. This collapse is usually due to the loss of momentum (through the loss of wealth or resources) which eventually impacts the ability of the system to sustain itself. We see many examples of this in our current world, where previously common ways of living and working no longer seem to fit our new needs as a society, and become quickly irrelevant as a result.
    • Reorganisation/Recovery
      This phase provides an opportunity for change via rebuilding. This change can be positive or negative; it can preserve the status quo, start something new and innovative, or inspire a shift back to the “old” or safe ways to do things. Either way, it provides the foundations for the development of new and novel approaches that may be adopted.

     

    You don’t need to be an expert on the Adaptive Cycle to submit an abstract – this tool applies to all projects related to social and environmental issues and is being used as a guide for the conference structure. All you need to do is develop an Abstract for your chosen environmental education program, project or research. Some examples of relevant presentation topics / issues include:

    • Optimism for a changing world
    • Systems approach and resilience theory
    • Showcasing community-led examples
    • Education as transformative citizenship
    • Future’s Thinking
    • Exploring values-based communication
    • Recognition of Aboriginal knowledge
    • Respectful inter-generational collaboration
    • Reconnection for agency of nature
    • Technologies and education for sustainability
    • Valuing an informed, diverse world

      Presentation Types

      A maximum of two presenters may present a single presentation. No additional time will be given.

       

      Oral Presentation

      • Each presenter will have 20 minutes for their presentation. The 20 minute presentation length is inclusive of question and answer time. Presenters can choose to speak for less than 20 minutes if they wish to allow for further discussion.
      • Papers should communicate technical research, investigations and studies, and/or industry trends including showcasing experience in industry-based good practices, lessons learnt, project work and strategies.
      • The presentation consists of a brief talk and question and answer session. Presentation slides, video clips and props are encouraged but not compulsory.
      • These presentations will be made available online to conference attendees after the conference.
      • Final presentations are to be submitted 5 days prior to the conference for conference preparations and pre-loading.
      • Rooms are equipped with a computer and multimedia projector. If additional equipment is needed, it must be previously requested and is subject to availability. Additional AV can be requested during the abstract submission process.
      •  Abstracts not selected for Oral Presentation may be offered a Poster presentation.

       

      Hands on Workshop

      • Workshop presenters may choose to provide either a 30 minute, 60 minute or 120 minute interactive practical, hands-on workshop. 
      • Workshop presenters must provide an outline of the structure/plan for the session, indicating clearly how they will minimize presenter talk and maximise participant hand on experience and discussion/interaction.
      • Workshops should communicate technical research, and/or industry trends including showcasing good practice in Education for Sustainability, lessons learnt, project work and strategies being utilised.
      • Workshop outlines will be made available online to conference attendees after the conference. Final workshop visual aids are to be submitted 5 days prior to the conference for conference preparations and pre-loading.

       

      Poster Presentations

      • All Poster presentations will be prominently displayed in the Conference venue. Full instructions on the format and display of Poster will be detailed within acceptance notifications and sent to the nominated presenting authors.
      • Accepted posters must be printed by the authors as an A1 portrait (width 594 mm x height 841 mm) document and brought to the Conference by the presenting author. A board will be provided, labelled with a poster number title and authors. Fixing material will be provided.
      • Presenting authors are encouraged to be next to their posters during conference breaks.

      Review Process

      • The Conference Program Committee (CPC) will be responsible for evaluating abstracts.
      • The CPC may accept or reject abstracts and their decision is final.
      • Every effort will be made to accommodate the author(s) presentation preference however the CPC reserves the right to allocate the presentation to best suit the program and the overall balance of content.
      • Final program streams will be adjusted as necessary depending on current and pressing topics and in line with the range of abstracts received.
      • All abstracts will be reviewed by at least two independent reviewers for content, relevance, suitability and technical value before being accepted or declined. It is assumed the quality of the abstract is indicative of the quality of the final presentation.

      Evaluation Criteria

      Abstracts will be reviewed by the Program Committee according to the evaluation criteria below:

      • Aim of presentation clearly articulated
      • Focus, relevance & suitability for this conference
      • Scholarly contextualisation
      • Methods/Approaches clear/appropriate
      • Suitable discussion/reflection of research or practice clearly communicated

      Notification to Authors

      Acceptance or otherwise is at the discretion of the Conference Program Committee (CPC).

      All successful presenters will be notified by Wednesday, June 16 with an acceptance letter via email (so please check your junk / spam mail folder after this date in case it is misdirected). Full instructions for accepted presenters will be forwarded on the acceptance of the abstract. 

      Please note the details provided as the author contact should be for the nominated main contact of your abstract. All correspondence relating to the submission will be directed to this person, and they should in turn distribute to all co-presenters.

      All presenters must register for the Conference and pay the appropriate registration fee by 1 July 2021. It will be assumed any presenter not registered by this date has withdrawn their abstract from the program.