Virtual Congress

Due to the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic, persistent travel restrictions and the uneven and challenging vaccination rollout process worldwide, the IPSA Executive Committee (EC) took the difficult decision to transition to a fully Virtual Congress in 2021. After analyzing all the possible options in consultation with the Local Organizing Committee in Portugal, the Program Co-chairs and the IPSA Secretariat, the EC concluded that holding the Congress onsite in July was not feasible.

IPSA’s primary concern is to guarantee the health and well-being of our delegates, exhibitors and local partners. Going virtual will ensure a safer, even more engaging and inclusive Congress experience for everyone. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, IPSA’s mission to create an inclusive and global political science community and promote collaboration between scholars remains the same. We believe that the Virtual IPSA World Congress will help us overcome the challenges we face in the current circumstances.

1 February 2021 Official Announcement:  The 2021 IPSA World Congress Goes Virtual

Program

The main theme of the Congress, New Nationalisms in an Open World, will not change. All accepted papers and panels remain in the 2021 Congress program. All sessions, meetings, and exhibitions will take place in virtual rooms. Therefore, we encourage all our delegates to keep their papers and panels in the program.

Participants may access the revised Official Acceptance Letter of their paper or panel by logging into their IPSA account at wc2021.ipsa.org.

Paper authors are expected to submit their full papers by 20 June 2021. Refer to Guidelines for Full Papers. Submitted full papers are available in the Online Paper Room to IPSA online account holders.

Additional Congress Day

Transitioning to a virtual format entails numerous adjustments and modifications to the program, and we wish to thank you, in advance, for your patience and understanding. Our goal is to make sure that Congress participants have a fulfilling experience in a virtual environment. Therefore, an additional day was added to the initial Congress dates to accommodate a large number of panels and schedule simultaneous sessions in the most optimal way to cover different time zones. The revised dates of the 26th IPSA World Congress of Political Science are 10-15 July 2021.

Schedule

The Congress Schedule Overview (in UTC) is available and has been planned to have times which will be convenient for attendees in all time zones and includes 24 time blocks for panels. It is each participant's responsibility to make sure that they are available for all 6 days of the Congress 10-15 July 2021.

The preliminary schedule of panels and sessions will be available on the Congress website early June and will be subject to change. Detailed information about the virtual presentation options (live or prerecorded) will be provided in due course.

Schedule Restrictions

Congress participants are invited to submit the Schedule Information Form, also available in [My Congress] user menu under the 'Schedule' header, by 25 May 2021 to indicate their time zone and select up to 6 time periods in which they DO NOT wish to present.

The time zone and schedule restrictions submitted in the Schedule Information Form will be taken into account when scheduling panels. This information will also be available to panel/session convenors if your role or paper needs to be moved to another panel during the reorganization of panels following the final registration deadline.

It is very important to note that as this is an international Congress and there are likely to be participants in your panel in other time zones, we will not be able to accommodate everyone’s preference. 

Cancellation Procedure

If you will no longer participate in the 2021 Virtual Congress, please cancel your participation by writing to wc2021@ipsa.org to withdraw your paper/panel/role from the 2021 program. Please send your cancellation notice as soon as possible, to allow your panel to find a replacement in time. If you do not cancel, your name will remain on the program.

Registration

To confirm your attendance at the 2021 Congress, you may proceed to registration as of 18 February 2021. Please note that all Congress participants must be individual members of IPSA to register for the IPSA World Congress.

Reduced Registration Fees

Following the 1 February 2021 Official Announcement: The 2021 IPSA World Congress Goes Virtual, IPSA’s Executive Committee has decided to reduce the Congress registration fees. It is essential to acknowledge and keep in mind that the reduction of registration fees is not that virtual events are less expensive and easier to run. In fact, putting together an event the magnitude of the World Congress with multiple days of large numbers of simultaneous sessions requires a lot more advance preparation and a large technical support team. These costs and the loss of local sponsorships have made a virtual World Congress as expensive as an onsite event. However, in recognition of the economic hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to encourage as much international participation as possible, IPSA is offering a reduced registration fee. Members may also choose to donate the reduction in solidarity.

Solidarity Registration Fees

The full registration fee (Solidarity) is maintained for those wishing to contribute to the Global South Solidarity Fund to assist colleagues in financial need to attend future IPSA World Congresses. Those who contribute to the Global South Solidarity Fund by paying the Solidarity Rate will have their names listed to recognize their contribution on the Congress website and the virtual event platform should they choose to.

Registrations Completed before 1 February 2021

Participants Attending

Participants who completed their registration before 1 February 2021 (date of official announcement) and wish to maintain their participation must fill out the Solidarity/Reduction Confirmation form, which will be available in [My Congress] user menu under the Registration header, between 18 February and 18 March 2021 to confirm how to apply their registration fee reduction :

  1. Maintain the full (Solidarity) registration fee and contribute the difference of the fee reduction to the Global South Solidarity Fund;
  2. Request a refund for the difference of the fee reduction.

Important note: The full (Solidarity) registration fee will be maintained if participants do not complete the Solidarity/Reduction confirmation form by 18 March 2021 and will not have their names listed in recognition of their contribution on the Congress website.

No e-mail requests will be processed. All partial refund requests must be submitted online within the indicated dates.

Participants Cancelling

Participants who completed their registration before 1 February  2021 (date of Official Announcement) and wish to cancel their participation, may request a 100% refund of the registration fee by sending an email to wc2021@ipsa.org between 18 February and 18 March 2021. Registration fee refunds will be processed within three (3) weeks following the date of the request.

Please note: Membership fees are non-refundable. New and renewed membership will remain valid even if registration to the World Congress is cancelled. The complimentary one-year IPSA membership (offered in October 2020) will be revoked from members who cancel their Congress registration

Refund Policy

All cancellations must be sent in writing to the IPSA Secretariat at wc2021@ipsa.org. Registrations completed after 1 February 2021 and cancelled before 18 March 2021 will be refunded 50% of the registration fee paid; cancellations received as of 19 March 2021 and no-shows will not be refunded. If mailed, the 50% refund will apply to notifications post-marked by 10 March 2021.

Please note: Membership fees are non-refundable. New and renewed membership will remain valid even if registration to the World Congress is cancelled. The complimentary one-year IPSA membership (offered in October 2020) will be revoked from members who cancel their Congress registration.
If you cannot attend the World Congress, please send your cancellation notice as soon as possible, to allow your panel to find a replacement in time.

Refund Policy - Virtual Congress Transition

Registrations completed before 1 February 2021 (date of Official Announcement) and cancelled before 18 March, are eligible for a 100% refund of the registration fee upon request (membership fees are non-refundable). Refund requests must be submitted between 18 February and 18 March 2021 to wc2021@ipsa.org. Registration fee refunds will be processed within three (3) weeks following the date of the request. The regular Refund Policy applies to registrations completed after 1 February 2021.

Updated Registration Documents

Registration related documents are available to participants by logging into their IPSA online account at wc2021.ipsa.org in [My Congress] user menu.

Travel Arrangements

IPSA is unable to compensate for any cancellation fees or non-refundable reservations made by participants.

Flights

Please check with your airline for cancellation options. Your credit card provider may also offer travel insurance.
Participants who made a reservation with TAP Air Portugal may apply for a travel refund voucher at  https://reembolsos.flytap.com/RefundsWAR/.

Hotel Reservations

If you have already booked your hotel in Lisbon, please notify your hotel immediately to cancel your reservation. If you booked your hotel through the IPSA World Congress website, please email wchotels@bnetwork.com.

Please stay tuned and visit the IPSA Congress website and our social media accounts for updates.

We are committed to organizing a globally inclusive World Congress to be remembered. Join us from the comfort of your home for what is already promising to be the most extensive program ever assembled in IPSA’s history.

Thank you for supporting IPSA’s mission.