COVID-19

March 14, 2020

Dear HGM2020 attendees, authors and invited speakers,

Re: IMPORTANT HGM2020 UPDATE

The HGM2020 organising committee and the HUGO council have continued to monitor the growing global COVID-19 outbreak. Many countries, agencies, and institutions have now banned travel. As of today, there have been 14 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Perth. Because of increasing concerns that travel to a large international group gathering is unsafe, the HGM2020 leadership has decided to now make the HGM2020 meeting 100% virtual.

The health and safety of our delegates, sponsors, exhibitors, invited speakers and the local community in Perth are paramount.

Here is what you need to know:

• HGM2020 will be 100% virtual.
• The entire meeting will be streamed live with the ability for questioning and answering in real time. To benefit those in different time zones, meeting content will also be available on demand.
• Existing registrations will automatically be converted into online registrations. Login details will be sent to you before the conference.
• Instructions for remote presentations will be sent a week before the meeting.
• Since the physical meeting is cancelled, all associated social events are also cancelled.
• Please, cancel your flights ASAP. If you decide to reschedule your visit to Perth for some time in the future, after this situation has passed, we’ll work to find opportunities for you to visit and present at our local academic institutes.
• If you have made hotel reservations through the conference organisers, they will be automatically cancelled by Encanta and the applicable hotel cancellation policy will apply. If you made reservations elsewhere, you should cancel those reservations yourself.

Registration refunds
Existing registrations will automatically convert into online registrations. Delegates that do not wish to attend the meeting virtually can cancel their registration completely. These requests will be handled per the cancellation policy.

The differences between the original registration fee for physical attendance and the virtual online registration fee will be refunded to you at the completion of the HGM2020 meeting. To support the meeting in this difficult time, delegates have the option of contributing their partial registration refund to HGM2020 to assist with the substantial cost associated with the cancellation of the physical meeting. These contributions will also help us deal with the costs associated with converting the conference to online mode. However, if you prefer not to contribute your partial registration refund to HGM2020, please email Jennifer Lee your refund request at [email protected] no later than April 30, 2020.  If we do not receive an e-mail request for your partial registration refund by April 30, 2020, we will gratefully accept your kind additional contribution for the HGM2020 meeting.

Controlled access to meeting content
Only registered delegates will have online access to the meeting. Presenters concerned about unpublished data can request that specific slides not be shown. In exceptional cases, the presenter can request that none of their slides be provided online.

Certificates of attendance/recognition of presentation
We have spent a massive effort in designing this meeting to benefit early career researchers (i.e., many speaking slots). If you were allocated a speaking slot and present virtually, you can place this in your CV as presented at the HGM2020 meeting. We are still considering how to handle online poster presentations and are open to your suggestions. It is likely that poster presenters will be able to upload short 5 minute talks covering their poster content and/or a PDF version of their poster. More information on this will come shortly.

We will be in contact in the coming days with further information about the HGM2020 Virtual meeting. In the meantime, should you have any queries or require any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our Encanta Event Management office.

Encanta Event Management
T: +61 8 9389 1488
E: [email protected]
W: http://hugo-hgm2020.org/

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Kind regards,

Professor Alistair Forrest                           Professor Charles Lee
Convenor, HGM2020                                 HUGO President

Online Registration – COVID-19 Response

Due to the coronavirus COVID-19 HGM2020 has moved 100% to online mode (streaming and on demand video). Only registered delegates will have access to this content. Delegates from all countries can register for the online content. In addition participants from LMIC countries are eligible for a discounted online rate.

All pricing in AUD and inclusive of 10% GST.