Call for Hosts, DH2022

30 Apr 2019 - 00:00

The ADHO Conference Coordinating Committee invites proposals to host the Digital Humanities conference in 2022. According to the three-year regional rotation schedule adopted by the ADHO steering committee in 2014, DH2022 will be hosted in Europe.

Digital Humanities (DH) is the annual, international conference of the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO). ADHO's constituent organizations are the Association for Computers and the Humanities (ACH); the Australasian Association for Digital Humanities (aaDH);  the Canadian Society for Digital Humanities / Société canadienne des humanités numériques (CSDH/SCHN)centerNet; the Digital Humanities Association of Southern Africa;  the European Association for Digital Humanities (EADH)Humanistica, L'association francophone des humanités numériques/digitales; the Japanese Association for Digital Humanities (JADH);  Red de Humanidades Digitales (RedHD); and the Taiwanese Association for Digital Humanities. The next joint DH conference will be held in Utrecht, Netherlands, co-organized by the University of Utrecht, the KNAW, and CLARIAH, 7-13 July 2019. DH2020 will be held in Ottawa, Canada, organized by the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, 19-25 July 2020. DH 2021 will be held in Tokyo, Japan, organized by the University of Tokyo, 22-28 August 2021.

We are particularly interested in proposals from institutions or groups of institutions in a country or region that 1) have developed or are developing digital humanities communities and organizations and 2) have not previously hosted a DH conference. Please note that the local conference organizers (LOs) must be members of one of the ADHO constituent organizations, listed above.

Conference Information

The conference has recently attracted between 500-1000 attendees. The week of the conference includes of 3 days of meetings of ADHO’s governing body and its constituent organizations, as well as peer-reviewed workshops; 3 days of peer-reviewed panels, papers, and posters; and 1 day of social excursions. There are normally 6 or more parallel sessions per time slot and a small number of plenary presentations and receptions. Lunchtime slots are normally used for the member meetings of the COs. The peer-reviewed academic program is developed by an international Program Committee, which is appointed by the COs.

Local Organizers’ Responsibilities

Local organizers at the host institution(s) are responsible for: developing the conference website; providing accessible facilities; organizing a conference banquet; funding travel, subsistence, and registration for one or two keynote/plenary speakers; and coordinating any other social events that the local hosts think appropriate. The conference is entirely self-financed through conference fees, sponsorships, and/or other financial contributions that the local organizer is able to arrange. ADHO works together with the local organizers to ensure that registration fees and other income will support all conference expenditures; the details can be found in the ADHO Conference Protocol and related documentation. ADHO also finances certain conference awards, such as named prizes and bursaries–in 2022 ADHO will award the Roberto Busa prize. The local organizers are not responsible for the Busa award or the recipient’s travel costs. The local organizers are responsible for paying for bursary winners and Busa award winner to attend the conference banquet.

The local organizers are expected to set four levels of registration fees: for members of ADHO constituent organizations; for non-members; for students; and for participants based in a country in the ‘low-income” or “lower-to-middle income” groups (as defined by the World Bank).

The local organizers are expected to commit to the ADHO Conference Code of Conduct; ADHO will offer advice and consultation about how best to adhere to the Code of Conduct in all conference materials and events.

ADHO uses the conference management system ConfTool, and the ADHO Infrastructure and Conference Coordinating committees provide support for this system, including access to data from previous conferences. Local organizers are required to use the ConfTool system for registering participants and including them in special events such as the banquet, but actual credit card payments may be processed outside ConfTool by the local organizer.

Proposal Process

Written proposals should include the following:

  • an overview of facilities at the host institution
  • a summary of local institutional engagement and support for the organizers, and contingency plans in case of problems
  • a provisional budget, with registration fees calculated at 500, 750, and 1000 attendees
  • preferred dates for the conference
  • possible arrangements for social events, including the conference banquet
  • options for accommodation, including provisional costs and especial attention to low-cost student housing
  • travel information and advice for participants
  • options for payment (credit card, foreign currency, etc.) by participants
  • a brief outline of potential approaches to conference sponsorship
  • any other information that will help the ADHO Steering Committee make a selection

The DH2022 host will be selected by the ADHO Steering Committee at the DH2019 conference in Utrecht, Netherlands. Proposers must be prepared to give an in-person presentation and to answer questions at the ADHO Steering Committee meeting on 7 July at DH2019 in Utrecht. Bid Organizers are discouraged from bringing gifts for the Steering Committee to this presentation. Bid Organizers are expected to bring a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with them to this meeting. Winning bidders will be bound by the MOU and the ADHO Conference Protocols.

Potential organizers are invited to discuss their plans informally with the chair of the ADHO Conference Coordinating Committee, Diane Jakacki (diane.jakacki@bucknell.edu), before submitting a bid. Protocols, guidelines, information about past conferences, and a memorandum of understanding between ADHO and local organizers can be found here: http://adho.org/conference. Sample budgets and other information may be available for planning purposes on request.

Proposals should be submitted to Jakacki in draft form by 30 April 2019. Draft proposals will be reviewed by the Conference Coordinating Committee and further information or clarification of aspects of the proposals may be requested of the bidding organizations before it passes proposals to the ADHO Steering Committee for scheduling. The Conference Coordinating Committee will provide the Steering Committee with short recommendations for each bid, noting the bids strengths and weaknesses.

31 January 2019, ADHO Conference Coordinating Committee