Guidelines for IULTCS Global Congresses and IULTCS Regional Conferences
The International Union has the task to encourage and develop the interchange of knowledge and experience between leather technologists and chemists worldwide by increasing the collaboration between member societies. One way in which this aim can be accomplished is to hold Congresses or Conferences at regular intervals, according to Article 17 of the Statutes and Articles 19 and 20 of the Internal Regulations. The main aim of such a meeting is to provide a professional forum to communicate progress in the application of chemistry, technology and the related sciences to leather manufacture. Congresses or Conferences also encourage contacts between the member societies and other individuals or organizations interested in leather manufacture.
Holding of IULTCS Global Congresses and IULTCS Regional Conferences
An IULTCS Global Congress is held every two years. This biennial Congress is normally held in a country selected by the Executive Committee after careful consideration of the various invitations received from member societies. An IULTCS Regional Conference may be held under the auspices of the IULTCS in interim years when no Global Congress is planned and as approved by the Executive Committee. Selection and approval of an IULTCS Global Congress and an IULTCS Regional Conference should be made at least four years prior to the respective meeting taking place. The detailed organisation of the Congress or Conference is the responsibility of the Host Society whose request has been accepted in writing. For simplification, the rest of these guidelines will use the word “Congress” but will cover both IULTCS Global Congresses and IULTCS Regional Conferences unless otherwise specified. Note that any approved IULTCS Regional Conference is organised under the auspices of the IULTCS and is expected to follow these Congress Guidelines in all respects.
Where feasible, Congresses are encouraged to take place immediately before or after major leather fairs or other industry meetings so that members can participate in both events. It is therefore important that the Host Societies contact the organisers of these events in order to co-ordinate dates. Since fairs often change dates without regard for our Congress, it is important to maintain contact with the organizers to seek repeated confirmation of the dates.
The Host Society is free to determine the final dates for the Congress suitable to the climate and availability of appropriate conference facilities. It is essential that the Host Society inform the secretary of each Member Society of the dates of the Congress at least two years in advance. This will avoid Member Societies setting up conflicting dates with local events and in order that every interested member can have sufficient time to make arrangements to participate in the main IULTCS Congress.
Co-operation with the Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is to be kept fully informed of planning through regular updates from the Host Society organizers. Communication takes place through the Secretary/Treasurer, the IULTCS President, and by progress reports delivered at Executive Committee meetings. The Executive Committee retains the right to cancel a Congress if there is no knowledge of the activities or inadequate communication with the Host Society.
To encourage a good interchange of information, a representative of the Host Society organising committee will be invited to hold a chair within the Executive Committee four years prior to the Congress being held. This guest chair will have full voting rights; (Note: double voting rights will not be extended if the regional representative and organising committee representative are the same person). The organizing committee representative will hold this chair until the Congress event is completed. The names, positions and contact information of all members of the Host Society organizing committee should be communicated as early as possible to the Executive Committee. At least twelve months before the Congress date, the officers of the Executive Committee shall hold, if possible, a joint meeting with the organising committee of the Host Society to discuss and confirm the proposed agenda and facilities of the Congress.
While the detailed planning rests with the Host Society, the Executive Committee as a whole is pleased to support the Host Society with any difficulties that become apparent during preparation for the Congress. Nominees from the IULTCS Executive Committee should assist with the selection of lectures.
The President and Secretary/Treasurer shall be exempted from payment of Congress registration fees. Complimentary rooms and the waiver of other fees (e.g. social events), is up to the discretion of the Host Society. The organising committee of a Congress shall make available to the Union a premium of 30 US Dollars for every participant who has paid the normal Congress registration fee. Student participants are exempt from this premium. A student is defined as someone participating in a full-time course of study towards a qualification in leather or leather industry related academic field. Immediately upon conclusion of the Congress, and if possible on the last day of the Congress, the Host Society will make available to the Secretary / Treasurer an audited list of names of all congress participants, their registration status, country of origin, and affiliation (i.e. company or organization).
On-Site Registration
The Host Society should provide to all delegates at time of on-site registration: a copy of the Programme, a copy of the Proceedings, and a list of attendees. The printed Programme should show all events in sequence with exact times. The Programme should include authors and titles of lectures and visual displays and all other pertinent event information. Changes in the Programme should be clearly announced at the start and end of Technical Sessions. The Proceedings of the technical sessions should include the oral papers and visual presentations as either a printed volume or preferably in electronic format – see Appendix 1. If copyright is claimed, then this should be clearly stated on the Proceedings and on all technical programme documents. A list of all pre-registered delegates names, affiliation (e.g. company or organization), and country of origin should also be provided to delegates before proceedings begin.
Programme Outline for the Congress
The programme of the Congress should consist of six main parts (five for Regional Conferences):
1. The Opening Ceremony: A ceremonial procession with flag and anthem, opening remarks, and any special opening address.
2. The Heidemann Lecture. A plenary lecture of 30 – 45 minutes, preferably on a topic related to fundamental collagen research. This lecture is usually scheduled during the first morning of the Congress and as the opening lecture of the Technical Programme.
3. Technical Lectures or Oral Presentations. The presentation of the technical programme of the Congress is normally carried out in one conference room. The organisation of the details of the scientific technological programme is the responsibility of the Host Society.
4. A Visual Display Section. A separate area is set aside for visual display presentations that can be visited by the delegates during coffee breaks and at the end of lectures.
5. IULTCS Delegates Meetings. These meetings are held during IULTCS Global Congresses and not at IULTCS Regional Conferences. Delegates meetings are to be conducted by the Executive Committee of the IULTCS. Delegates meetings are to be scheduled without conflict with the technical programme. There are two meetings scheduled but only one is typically needed.
6. The Closing Ceremony: Any closing remarks and a ceremonial procession with flag and anthem.
Appendix 1 contains further details to aide the organization of the Heidemann Lecture, Technical Programme Lectures and Visual Displays.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies – IULTCS Flag and Anthem
A flag ceremony, accompanied by the IULTCS anthem, should take place at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Congress. The President of the IULTCS (or designated member of the Executive Committee) should introduce the IULTCS flag at the opening ceremony of the Congress and hand it over to the President of the Host Society. The flag should be placed on the podium for the duration of the Congress and, if possible, the larger version should be flown from the roof of the Congress centre.
The official opening of the Congress usually takes place on the morning of the first day in the presence of the accompanying persons. It includes the addresses of greeting, the presentation of any honours, and any special lecture. The opening ceremony must not be used for political purposes or to promote the national interests of the host country. It must be emphasised that the Congress is an International Union and introductory comments should remain within the aims and purpose of the IULTCS. The Host Society should vet any guest speaker’s presentation for the opening ceremony and also set time limits for guest speakers.
At the closing ceremony the President of the host Association should hand the IULTCS flags over to the President of the host Association for the next IULTCS Global Congress. The Host Society of the Global Congress shall loan the flag to interim IULTCS Regional Conferences.
During both the opening and closing ceremony a suitable portion of the anthem of the IULTCS, i.e. the “Air” from Suite No 1 of Handel’s Water Music in F Major, should be played. The music file may be downloaded from the IULTCS website.
Conducting the Technical Programme: (See also Appendix 1)
Heidemann Lecture
The Heidemann Lecture is a keynote presentation that is held in memory of Professor Dr. Eckhardt Heidemann (1925-1999). Heidemann made significant practical contributions to the science of leather manufacture and he held a lifelong interest in the structure and properties of the collagen molecule. It is typical for the Host Society to invite a high profile guest lecturer to make this keynote presentation on a collagen related topic.
Oral Presentations
It is helpful to group together lectures from the same or similar areas to form a half-day or full day symposium. Where lectures are held in parallel sessions, the topics running in parallel should not cover similar areas.
The technical programme with allotted times should be made available to the IULTCS to place on its website four months before the Congress, so that the participants who are unable to participate in the whole Congress can made appropriate travel plans. If possible, the programme should also be released to the press and made available to all other member countries for suitable promotion.
It is strongly recommended that the organising committee requests all the lecturers, chairpersons of sessions, translators, and the Executive Committee to attend a meeting before the start of the Congress. The organisers can use this occasion to repeat in detail the guidelines for the conduct of the lecture programme, the facilities and equipment available, rules on timing, reminders against use of commercial names, and other requirements of the venue or Host Society. The lecturers should be reminded not to speak too quickly so that the international audience and translators can keep up with them. Lecturers should be clearly informed that chairmen of the session are responsible for keeping time. Chairpersons have the right to stop lectures that are over time and can refuse questions if insufficient time is available. The lecturers should be reminded that if they have slides with small print or more than 25 slides then they will most likely have problems with people following their talk and keeping to allotted time. The lecturers should confirm they understand the requirements and should be told to revise their presentations to comply with rules and time limits if necessary.
The lecture sessions are best conducted by chairpersons who are experienced industry people drawn from different countries. The chairperson should be selected when the lecture programme is being finalised and their name, (or names if there is a co-chair), should be listed on the official programme. Key points:
1. The person in overall charge of the Congress technical sessions should contact the Chair of each session with a list of papers, authors and contact details for each presentation, at last one month in advance.
2. It is the responsibility of the Chair of each session to contact each author and request a biography so that they can introduce each author/lecturer appropriately.
3. The person in overall charge of the Congress technical sessions should introduce the Chair for each session.
4. The Chair for each session must introduce each speaker and the topic of the lecture.
5. The Chair of each session is responsible for keeping the programme to time and it is helpful to warn the lecturers 2 to 3 minutes before the end of their lecture time by means of a verbal or visual signal, (e.g. announcement of remaining time, use of coloured podium lights, coloured cards, etc.).
6. When the allotted time has elapsed, the lecture must be concluded, so that there is sufficient time for discussion. The short time set aside for discussion must not be further curtailed. The Chair should invite questions and be prepared to initiate discussion if necessary.
7. The Chair should change each session or each half-day.
Lecturers who have cancelled their lecture for any reason must inform the organizers as soon as possible. To avoid cancellations of lectures it is strongly recommended that approximately one month prior to the Congress all lecturers are contacted to reconfirm their attendance. If some lecturers have not registered to attend the Congress then they should be requested to complete registration immediately or be informed that their lecture will be withdrawn. The organizers should announce changes not noted in the printed programme as widely as possible, (e.g. publish changes centrally, on the doors of the lecture rooms, announcements at the end or beginning of technical sessions, etc.). Should a lecture be cancelled at very short notice and there is not a suitable opportunity to inform all delegates, then it is preferable that an interval take place during the cancelled lecture time.
A certificate of appreciation signed by the President of the IULTCS and representatives of the Host Society shall be handed to speakers and chairpersons of all sessions. A certificate of attendance should be handed to delegates. The precise layout of such certificates is left to the discretion of the organising committee.
Visual Display Presentations
A specific time should be allotted during the Congress for review of visual display presentations and when authors will be present for discussion with delegates. To ensure good access for delegates, the displays should be located close to the coffee facilities, preferably in the same room. At suitable times during the Congress, announcements should be made reminding delegates of the location of the displays and inviting them to visit the displays and engage authors in discussion. To raise the profile of these visual display presentations it is suggested that time be allowed in the main technical programme for each presentation to have 5 minutes to summarise the work on display. This aspect must be strictly controlled and no questions are allowed.
IULTCS Meetings and Meeting Room Requirements
Suitable meeting rooms should be made available for any of the Commissions (IUP, IUC, IUE, IUF, IUT, IUR) that may wish to hold meetings during a Congress. The chair of the relevant IU Committee should confirm to the Host Society the proposed timing of the meeting and required size of the meeting room at least 6 months in advance of the Congress. These meetings may take place the day before the start of the Congress.
During an IULTCS Global Congress, the IU meetings should take place before the final meeting of the Council of Delegates. This is to allow official business from the IU meeting, such as final approval of an IU test method, to be presented to the Council of Delegates.
A room should be made available for the Executive Committee to meet participants and hold meetings. Separate meetings may be scheduled for the day before the Congress, a second meeting during the Congress, and a third meeting at the end of the Congress, if necessary.
During IULTCS Global Congresses, two meetings of the Council of Delegates are to be included; the first at the end of the first complete Congress day, and the second on the last day. (Usually, only the meeting on the last day is held). Each Member Society appoints official delegates to attend the Council of Delegates meeting according to the Statutes of the IULTCS.
Promotion of Congresses
It is recommended that the press be informed of the Congress details as early as possible in order to encourage participation. Contacts for the press and a list of technical and trade journals in member countries can be obtained from the Secretary of the Union. Updates and ongoing preparations for the Congress should be informed to the press at regular intervals to encourage interest. In general, too little attention has been given to advertising Congresses and it is a very important that action is taken to promote a Congress as widely as possible. In addition to the regular press, information at trade fairs, internet websites, direct emails, and personal contacts should be used to promote the upcoming event. A website or the email address of the Host Society or organizing committee member(s) should be provided so that interested parties can readily obtain information about the Congress. It is important that such sites and contacts are well advertised through the press, IULTCS internet page, and other leather industry sites.
Budgeting, Sponsorship, and Payments
Appropriate budgeting and financing of the Congress is the responsibility of the Host Society. Special consideration must be given well in advance to: setting up a suitable budget for the Congress, for possible sponsorship agreements, and for having appropriate facilities available for receiving payments. If possible, the host society should set-up a secure link to allow the use of credit cards for payment of hotel and registration fees. Special consideration may be required for those attending from countries that have particular rules on currency transfers. Any hardship discounts, waivers of fees for speakers, or other accommodations are at the sole discretion of the Host Society, but this will not affect the IULTCS premium.
APPENDIX 1
The Technical Programme
The main activity of the Congress is the technical programme, which consists of lectures and visual displays on scientific and technological subjects relating to leather and their discussion. This portion of the guidelines is concerned solely with this scientific technological programme. It summarises experiences gathered at previous conferences and is intended to ease the work of the Host Society without limiting its initiative.
Call for Papers
Every member of a Member Society of the Union has the right to propose one or more papers in the form of an oral lecture or visual display for the Congress. In order to obtain an idea of the number of papers in sufficient time, the Host Society must inform all Member Societies of the finalised date of the Congress, together with an invitation to propose papers as early as possible, and at least one year prior to the start of the Congress. This should also be done at preceding Congresses since these invitations have still to be relayed to the individual members.
If the Host Society plans to focus the papers within certain themes, this must be made clear as early as possible. Themes should only be selected for a portion of the scientific technological programme and sufficient room must be left for free choice of topic.
The closing date for receipt of proposed paper title should be a maximum of nine months before the beginning of the Congress. Proposals must be received before this date, together with the subject and short abstract (maximum 250 words) in English, and if applicable, also in the other official Congress language. Any translations must be undertaken by the member offering the lecture thus ensuring that the content is correctly reflected in all versions. The abstract should give a good summary of the content of the paper as the abstract will determine whether or not the paper is selected for presentation.
Selection of Papers
After the closing date, the Host Society should present the abstracts to an internationally selected Scientific and Technical Committee for a professional vetting of the papers. At least two members of the Executive Committee of the IULTCS should sit on this Scientific and Technical Committee. The papers may be on fundamental scientific topics or on technological themes close to practice.
Practicing tanners are particularly encouraged to offer papers and thus participate actively in the work of the Union. The Committee studying the paper abstracts should not select more than two oral lectures for each presenter and should ensure a good balance of topics and presentations that reflect the world wide leather industry interests. Presenters submitting more than two papers should be encouraged to offer some of them as visual displays with a different author available for each visual display.
Care must be taken in selection that a sufficiently high standard of oral lectures and visual displays is maintained. The technical programme reflects the ideals of the Union and it is important therefore not to accept papers which do not meet sufficiently high standards of scientific content or degree of novelty. The results of work to be reported must not be published before the Congress. Equally, papers that refer to test methods other than IULTCS official methods, or the equivalent ISO or EN methods, should be rejected. This should not exclude presentations which are seeking to present newly developed methods, but it would be preferable that these should simultaneously be submitted to the relevant IU Commissions as possible new IU Test methods.
Papers advertising or dealing solely with the use of proprietary products are not to be accepted. It should be clearly noted in instructions and guidelines issued to authors that presentations should only contain generic names and are not to refer to commercial product names during lectures. A suitable sized company logo in the corner of a slide or poster and a list of commercial products at the end of a presentation is allowed.
Should the Host Society for understandable reasons have difficulties or doubts about accepting or refusing offers of particular papers, the Executive Committee is prepared to assist by nominating official referees.
Preparation of Papers – Full Text and Abstracts
The authors who have offered papers should be informed shortly after the closing date, and at the least 7 months before the Congress, whether their paper has been accepted into the Congress programme. The author(s) need to be advised whether their work is to be delivered as an oral lecture or visual display. The members must then submit the finalised text of their paper to the Host Society at a time nominated by the Host Society.
The abstracts must be made available by the Host Society before the beginning of the Congress. The abstracts should be printed in English and if possible in the other official Congress language. A list of the titles and authors for all the Oral Lectures and Visual Display presentations should be sent to all registered participants or placed on the Host Society website at least 2 months before the beginning of the Congress. This way, participants are already informed of the contents of the lectures and are in a position to contribute to the discussion. Only when all participants are well prepared will lively discussion ensue.
Abstracts and full texts of all papers should be made available to all participants at the time of registration. The Executive Committee proposes that the abstracts be available in printed form for easy reference, while a digital version of the full paper, e.g. in PDF file format, should be made available. Because of the need to prepare these full texts for distribution, (i.e. as a CD-R or on a USB Flash Drive), the papers must be submitted to the Host Society at least 3 months before the beginning of the Congress. The text of the lectures will typically only be submitted in one Congress language, that is, the one which the lecturer will use.
The decision regarding which specific method of printing or distributing the abstracts and papers is used belongs to the Host Society. The Host Society may also request to hold the copyright for the submitted texts. After the Congress the Host Society has the right to publish the texts in the appropriate journal(s) of its choice. The author may not publish the same text of the paper delivered at Congress without the approval of the Host Society. If the Host Society publishes papers from the Congress it shall acknowledge that the paper was a presentation made at an IULTCS Congress or Conference and it should identify the specific event.
The lecturer is not entirely bound to the submitted text and one is free to augment or alter it if this is possible in the time available. In this way, results obtained since the submission of the text can be taken into account. However, the main theme of the lecture as laid down in the abstract must not be altered. The modified manuscript must be handed to the translators in sufficient time to allow for necessary accurate translation.
In order to reduce costs, it is helpful that the lectures are submitted in a clean text on white paper or by suitable electronic means using a convenient word processor programme. The number of lines per page, format and font size, and width of line is to be stated, so that photo printing or electronic storage can be used. It is essential that the Host Society issues clear guide lines for the setting out of the text as regards headings, names, etc., so that the lecturers produce texts in as uniform a format as possible.
Presentation of Oral Lectures
For each oral lecture there is normally available a maximum of 15 minutes, followed by 5 minutes for discussion. Exceptions may be made in special cases, for example, for an anniversary lecture, a principal address, or for a presidential address.
Lectures and discussions are held in one of the official languages (English + one additional, if applicable) and the lecture and subsequent discussion are simultaneously translated into the other official accepted language.
Lectures must be formulated in such a way that their content can be clearly understood by the translators and by all participants with technical training, irrespective of their specialisation within the leather field. Since the aim is to further the practice of leather manufacture, it is essential that the participants who are practicing leather manufacturers should be able to apply what they hear in their day-to-day work. Clarity of speech and contents are therefore the primary aims for the presentation. The plea to present the abstracts and lectures properly is especially directed to those lecturers who have to speak in a language other than their mother tongue. Such lectures are often not clear enough and may contain incorrect figures of speech. It is therefore recommended that in completing manuscripts, help is sought from a colleague whose mother tongue is the language of presentation.
Lecture presentations are typically illustrated by a computer presentation format, e.g. PowerPoint, but picture slides or use of an overhead projector may be used. The following general rules for the preparation have been drawn up to ensure clarity:
1. Slides must be legible. They must be provided in a large format and of such a size that they are readable even from the back rows of the lecture hall.
2. Tables must be easily readable. Each table should only contain limited data; otherwise the audience cannot absorb the content sufficiently quickly.
3. The use of video illustration is allowed, but this should be kept short and on topic.
4. Except for a company logo in the corner, neither the tables, nor figures and machine drawings may include names or symbols of firms, trademarks or trade names and must be completely neutral and free from advertising. The same applies, of course, to the lecture itself.
All details of the required form of the lectures and tables must be a communicated to the lecturers when they are informed of the selection of their lectures in the programme of the Congress.
Organization and Presentation of Visual Displays
Authors of papers selected for Visual Display should be asked at time of notification whether they have any specific needs. This may include such things as access to electrical power outlet, display table for a working model, or other requirement. Any special requirements should be determined well in advance. Poster size limits must be clearly spelled out to the authors. The same instructions regarding legibility, organization, clarity of language, etc that applies to Oral Presentations also apply to Visual Displays. This includes the limitations on use of company logos or commercial product information.
It is useful to have a single person identified during Congress to take responsibility for the organization of the visual displays. The visual display organizer should be available at the time of on-site registration and between breaks in the oral presentations to attend to visual display presenter’s questions or needs as they arise. Written instructions should be provided to each visual display presenter at the start of Congress and should include the following information:
1. The location of each presenter’s visual display, this should be communicated using a diagram and numbered location.
2. The time allotted for setting up displays and the time when displays should be removed.
3. An instruction requiring presenters to be present at their displays during break times and that they should make themselves reasonably available to answer questions and engage in technical discussions with all interested viewers.
4. Name and on-site contact information of the organizer of the visual displays.
If time is allotted in the Oral programme for Visual Display presenters to provide an overview of their work, then this needs to be very clearly communicated and carefully managed. Presenters are limited to no more than 3 slides. They need to clearly understand that in the allotted 3-5 minutes, they will only have enough time to introduce the topic, briefly provide an overview of the work performed, and then state the main conclusions. Any discussion between the presenter and a delegate can take place during break times and preferably at the place of visual display.