You must submit your proposal using the online submission form (click the button below!). Proposals sent by email will not be considered. Proposals that are incomplete will not be considered. The form automatically closes at 5:00 Eastern Time (2:00 Pacific Time) on January 31, 2025 whether you have completed your submission or not.

• Submit a Symposia Proposal!

• Submitter agreements. The submitter must agree to abide by the Code of Conduct for SCO-SOC and the SCO-SOC EDI Statement.
• Symposium title. A short and descriptive title works best.
• Organizer (Name, institution, email, country). This person is the point of contact for the session and responsible for communicating with speakers.
• Co-organizers (Name, institution, email, country for each). There can be any number of co-organizers, including zero.
• 4 Confirmed speakers (Name, institution, email, country, and tentative talk title for each). Only speakers who have been contacted and have committed to the symposia should be listed. The talk title can be updated later during abstract submission, but please avoid vague placeholder titles (note the review criteria).
• Symposium description (up to 200 words): Describe the theme and purpose, avoiding overly specialized language. The description should include background information, goals, objectives, importance, and interest to the membership of SCO-SOC. Please do not duplicate information that appears elsewhere (symposia title, organizer name, speakers names, speaker topics, etc.) This description will appear in the online program and be read by potential attendees.
• Justification (up to 200 words): The justification should focus on how the review criteria are met by the proposal (see criteria below) and not simply repeat the symposium description. The justification will only be seen by peer reviewers and the committee. It will not appear in the meeting program.
• Diversity and inclusion: SCO-SOC is committed to promoting diversity in all areas of activity, including the Annual Meeting. In keeping with this policy, organizers of invited sessions are expected to affirmatively promote SCO-SOC’s Diversity Statement including representation from diverse voices and demographics, especially Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour, LGBTQ2S people, people with disabilities, or others who have been and are currently marginalized. We ask you to please confirm that you have taken efforts to encourage diverse and inclusive speakers.
• Scheduling notes (up to 200 words, optional): Is the symposium intended to be linked to another session or social event? Are there any other symposia proposed for the meeting you are aware of that should not be scheduled at the same time as this one? Are there any other considerations we should know about when scheduling? Please note we cannot honor requests to schedule for a specific date or time, but we will do our best to avoid known scheduling conflicts. These notes will only be seen by peer reviewers and the committee. They will not appear in the meeting program.

All proposals will be peer reviewed by the Scientific Program Committee. Organizers will be notified of decisions by 21-February, 2025.

Relevance and impact

• offers significant contributions to the field of ornithology.
• presents innovative or interdisciplinary approaches, including novel collaborations or syntheses across subdisciplines of ornithology or with other related disciplines.
• has broad enough appeal to generate strong interest at the meeting.
• benefits broader society (for example through education, public policy, communication/public engagement, application to commercial technology, or international cooperation).

Structure and organization

• is explicitly more integrated than regular oral sessions.
• provides strong synthesis or overview; talks should not be simply a set of related case studies.
• avoids taking a narrow perspective on the symposium topic (organizers carefully avoid the appearance of biases toward their own perspectives).
• builds a well-integrated whole (each talk should have clear relevance to the overall synthesis provided by the symposium).

Speakers

• list 4 confirmed speakers (speakers who have been contacted and have committed to the session).
• include a specific title for every speaker’s talk.
• involve diverse perspectives and voices as elaborated in the SCO-SOC Diversity Statement, beyond or in addition to career stage and disciplinary diversity.
• note the conference organizers reserve the right to enforce a one oral presentation rule if there is high demand for presentation abstracts. Be sure speakers are comfortable with this rule when putting name forward.

• Read the proposal requirements and review criteria before you start developing your proposal.
• Start recruiting speakers as soon as possible. This generally takes longer than most people think it will. You do need a complete list of confirmed speakers and tentative talk titles (not final, but specific) for each person.
• Use a computer for submission as the site is not optimized for mobile viewing.