COVID-19 Updates

The 5th ELSI Congress has been postponed until 2022. In its place, on June 15 - 16, 2020, we will be hosting The ELSI Virtual Forum, a free online event featuring keynote and plenary speakers along with a selection of panels.

Update: March 20, 2020

Due to the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and its uncertain trajectory, we have concluded that an in-person ELSI Congress will not be possible. Instead, we invite you to join us for a 2-day virtual meeting on June 15 and 16, 2020, which will include the plenary sessions and a small number of panels. As the agenda is finalized, we will share details with you by email and post information on the Congress website. Please take a moment to cancel any hotel reservations and other travel plans you may have made.

We regret that the pandemic prohibits the full meeting and understand that it is disappointing not to have this opportunity to present your work. To support information exchange and professional networking among the ELSI research community, we are planning for the next ELSI Congress to take place in 2022 as originally scheduled.

We know all of you are living with the threat of COVID-19 in communities around the globe. As this pandemic changes our world and daily lives in every way, we hope you and your families remain well and keep safe.

We thank you for your patience as we evaluate our next steps, and will be back in touch soon.

Please get in touch with the ELSIcon2020 Organizing Committee by emailing info@elsicon2020.org if you have any concerns or questions about the event in regards to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Coronavirus Information Resources

Update: March 13, 2020

We are monitoring the evolving situation with the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that is impacting our communities. At this point, we have not decided to cancel the ELSI Congress, however, we are exploring alternative options, including opportunities for a virtual meeting and the possibility of rescheduling for a later date. We will keep you apprised of these plans as they develop, and post updates to this page should there be any changes to the conference planning and schedule, and with any other new information.

In the meantime, please see specific information regarding travel and registration below:

Travel

We realize that some of you may have purchased airline tickets to travel to New York City in June.

If you have not yet made your travel plans, we recommend that you wait to purchase any tickets until further notice.
If you have already purchased a ticket, please check with your travel provider’s customer service to see if they will accommodate no-cost changes or refunds due to Covid-19 considerations, even if your ticket was purchased on a non-refundable basis.

Hotel

Most hotels require no more than 48-72 hours for no-cost cancellations, but please check with your hotel. If you have already made, or plan to make, hotel reservations with the hotels associated with the ELSI Congress, each of these hotels have offered full refunds for cancellations more than 3 days before the event.

Registration

We will open the registration site as soon as a decision has been made on how to go forward with the conference.

We thank you for your patience as we evaluate our next steps.

Please get in touch with the ELSIcon2020 Organizing Committee by emailing info@elsicon2020.org if you have any concerns or questions about the event, travel plans or registration in regards to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Update: March 6, 2020

While we expect that ELSIcon2020 will take place as scheduled, we will actively monitor the local, national and international impact of the virus and are prepared to revise plans as necessary. Full registration refunds will be given should the event be canceled.

As you make your travel plans, please check to see if your airline or travel agent will waive change fees for booked travel (some airlines have announced waivers, others may ask you to check with customer service) and confirm the latest date for cancellation with your hotel.

We will post updates to this page should there be any changes to the conference planning and schedule, and with any other new information.