The EADH Executive Committee invites proposals for Local Organisers (LO) to host the 2020 EADH Conference. As with the first EADH conference held in 2018, the second conference will strengthen the scientific, institutional and cultural relations between the members of the DH communities in Europe and in the Mediterranean area. The EADH Conference is organised in each year that the annual ADHO Digital Humanities conference takes place outside of Europe. We are particularly interested in proposals from institutions and regions that:

• have recently developed or are developing digital humanities communities and organizations;
• have not previously hosted an ADHO or the EADH Digital Humanities conference.

Please note that the lead applicant must be a direct member of the EADH or of one of its Associate Organisations (currently AIUCD, DHD, DHN, CzADH and DH Russia).

Organisation

EADH Conferences are co-organised by two committees:

The scientific organisation is conducted by a Programme Committee (PC) with 10 members and one Chair, appointed by the EADH Executive Committee. The local organiser may appoint up to two members of the PC. The PC decides the main theme of the conference, identifies and invites keynote speakers, produces and issues the Call for Papers, manages the review process, and decides the academic conference programme.

Logistical organization will be the responsibility of a Local Organisation Committee, whose members and chair are appointed by the Local Organisers.

The EADH recommends the adoption of the conference management system ConfTool for registering participants and including them in special events such as the banquet, but payments may be processed outside ConfTool by the local organiser if desired.

Time Period and Venue

Conference dates are decided by the Local Organiser, in consultation with EADH. It is recommended that the conference takes place in the autumn of 2020. Other large DH-related conferences in Europe should be taken into account when fixing the precise dates.

The venue must be an academic or cultural institution in the European area in its broadest sense (including Russia and countries bordering the Mediterranean). The hosting institution should be able to accommodate a minimum of 300 delegates (including plenaries), at least three parallel sessions, and a communicative poster session.

Bids

Bids should contain a preliminary budget and up to two pages describing the motivations and logistical opportunities offered by the proposed venue.

Bidders must take into account the EADH diversity and inclusivity statement.

The venue for the 2020 conference will be decided by the EADH Executive Committee on the basis of:

• academic and social impact of the conference for the LO;
• logistical adequacy of the venue;
• overall quality of the proposal.

Bids should be submitted to secretary@eadh.org no later than July, 1, 2019.

Structure of the Conference

The Conference should be a 2/3-day event, avoiding weekends. Workshops and training events can precede the official conference days, depending on the availability of the LO. Presentations will be organized in 90-minute slots. The conference should have two keynote plenary talks.

Typical presentations are:

• full papers for theoretical or highly relevant methodological or technical issues;
• short papers to present research ideas, approaches and projects;
• panel or roundtable for one relevant topic discussed under different perspectives by 5/6 presenters;
• posters. One session of the conference is reserved for short poster presentations.

Bidders in coordination with the Programme Committee are encouraged to propose alternative formats and innovative organization of the conference in addition to this general framework.

Budget

The conference must be financially self-sustaining, but a backstop funding from the EADH of up to €5,000 can be discussed. The EADH will also provide bursaries for young scholars. The local organizers are expected to set six levels of registration fees:

• faculty and staff with permanent contract, members of the EADH, associate organizations, and other constituent organizations of ADHO;
• faculty and staff with permanent contract, non-members;
• faculty and staff with fixed-term contract, members of the EADH, associate organizations, and other constituent organizations of ADHO;
• faculty and staff with fixed-term contract, non-members;
• students, members of the EADH, associate organizations, and other constituent organizations of ADHO;
• students, non-members.

Local Organisers are expected to set member/non-member rates so that the difference between member/non-member rates are higher than the EADH membership costs. Registration fees are recommended not to exceed €300 for the highest level of non-member fees to make the conference more accessible to the community. 

Social Programme

Local Organisers are expected to arrange a diverse social programme, including a social dinner, that can contribute to the EADH community building.

Synergies and Possible Sponsorship

Suggested collaborative activities range from hosting of workshops and tutorials to co-organisation of the conference or financial support. Private in-kind and financial sponsorship is welcome, provided that any activity from sponsoring organizations is clearly distinct from, and does not influence, the academic program.