Symposium

Annual Symposium

Dear Members,

After an intense information-gathering period and brainstorming on alternatives, it is with some amount of sadness that I am announcing the cancellation of our annual symposium for 2020. This is no small matter. Financially, it is significant. We will be operating on emergency funds saved over decades. Professionally, it is also significant. Our symposium has historically been a chance for professional growth, a one-stop shop for updates in our line of work, and a quality opportunity for interacting with peers and other stakeholders. How many mentors have people in our line of work met because of the symposium? How many significant connections first formed at this event literally helped build facilities and opportunities for decades of research support? 

Our symposium is best known for those direct and meaningful interactions. One on one conversations happening between various stakeholders, learning from each other, professionally gaining from each other, and personally gaining appreciation for each other. Several people from various groups have called it a chance for the work family to get together. This year, our family will not get to see each other in the traditional sense. The Montreal symposium is still set to occur in 2021.

Members are hurting. People are perhaps a bit worried about what comes next. We have heard from various members about the need for this association to still be active. We hear you and we have definite plans to respond positively! We are going to need everyone to participate in order to become stronger on the other side of this. 
 
Our annual general meeting will still happen electronically and to remain in accordance with our by-laws, must happen in June. More details to come on that item of business over the next couple of months. More importantly, what makes our association strong will not be broken. We will still be having meaningful interactions and moving it online throughout 2020 and 2021. There will be a theme of recovery tying a series of webinars together, during which people will have a chance to learn and interact. Furthermore, our awards will still be presented during various webinars (so please go review the nominations information and get some in). 

We are setting up the venues through which our members can still grow and be edified. We hope as more information on these opportunities comes out that you will join us. The more support these efforts have, the more we can do! 
 
National will now be in contact with the hotel to cancel any current reservations under the CALAS room block. If there are any further instructions for early registrants, National will be in touch as soon as possible. If you have any immediate inquiries, feel free to contact National at office@calas-acsal.org or myself at jallen@trentu.ca.

Sincerely,

Jason Allen
President CALAS/ACSAL

Future Symposium Dates

May 1-4 2021 Montreal

June 18-21 2022 Toronto