Participants of the Ecsite Annual Conference love new perspectives, fresh ideas and different horizons. In event feedback received over the past few years, attendees have been consistantly asking to hear more speakers from outside of the science centre and museum field.

To help attract new faces, Ecsite is offering 15 free one-day registrations to speakers who can convince the Annual Conference Programme Committee (ACPC) that they will contribute novel topics, angles or session formats.

This could be your chance to finally bring in the mind-opening speaker you had always wanted to see at the conference - or attend it for free if you're one of the brilliant minds, critical friends or super-talented experts we had been missing.

Step one for all: form or join a team and develop a great session proposal together. You'll find everything you need to know about this as well as a special conference forum on the dedicated web page.

How do I apply for a free one-day registration?

Once you have joined a session proposal team, send a short application to Julie Becker, Communications and Events Manager, stating:

• Your contact details: name, email, phone number, postal address
• Your current occupation / job title and organisation
• The title(s) of the session proposal(s) you are involved in
• A short statement (max. 300 words) explaining how you heard of this opportunity, why you would love to speak at the 2016 Ecsite Annual Conference and how the ideas / perspectives / session formats you want to share would inspire science communication professionals

Session proposals need to be submitted by 15 October 2015 - as we want you to concentrate on that step first, we'll give you one more week to apply for your free registration: do so by 22 October.

How will applications be reviewed?

The ACPC will be rating the received applications on the following criteria:

• Novelty of the suggested topic / angle / session format
• Overall balance of professional horizons, geographic origins, themes and genders

What will my free one-day registration include?

The free one-day registration includes:

• Access to all sessions on one of the main conference's three days (9-11 June 2016)
• Coffee breaks and lunches
• On Thursday 9 June, access to the Gala Ball and on Friday 10 June, access to the Nocturne (unfortunately not to the Farewell Party on Saturday 11 June as it needs to be booked as a separate event by all participants)