Some questions that were asked so far:
It can be quite hot in Vienna in July, are the rooms in the venue climatised? … Yes. Rooms are climatised.
I am not going to submit a proposal for a contribution, can I still participate in the Symposium? … Sure, there is no obligation to take on the role of presenter, you will also contribute simply by participating in the discussions, and this is very welcome.
Can you suggest a few hotels for finding accommodation in Vienna? A list of hotels recommended by the University of Vienna is available on request. If you wish to get a copy of the list, please send us an email.
I am planning to submit a proposal for a contribution, but I am not sure about a creative format for it. Can you advise further? … The format needs to match the topic. Not every topic can be forged into a ‘creative format’, and there is nothing wrong as such with ‘traditional formats’. We just wish to point explicitly to the openness in relation to format/s. Our intention is to make the Symposium an event that holds some elements of surprise and fun. When you think of the run-of-the-mill academic conference (the bigger, the worse …) with its 15 min. presentation, 5 min. discussion slots – there is no proper engagement possible; not with the topic presented and not with the presenter as a person either. We try to open this up, stretch the sessions to 90 minutes with only one presentation. This is to give the presenter more time to lay out their topic. But it should also, and very much in line with the idea of collective participation in CMW, give the participants in the session ample time to ask questions, make comments, open space for collaborative critique. This in mind, if you think of four days sitting in seminar rooms and following three or four power-point, or lecture style talks of an hour length (or longer) per day, there is the danger that participants are thrown back to the status of a ‘quiet audience’ with little chance to actually pick up the threads that the presenters offer. Hence, it is a bit of a balancing act to follow a ‘traditional format’. On the other side, if a presenter takes the cue of the ‘creative format’ too serious, and e.g. dismisses all ‘traditional elements’ for instead including ‘creativity’, this could lead to a pure gallery play for the sake of effect only – which is not a good solution either. So, if a presenter starts planning their session with the premise to include the participants as much as possible in the session, the format may become more like a workshop, and that would be the best result. And as stated above, if you submit a proposal a member of the organisational team will contact you, and all further questions can be addressed directly.