Holding a Panel or Activity and open suggestions, English version

Hey everyone! ^^

Just like the past years, we're opening a thread to ask all of you to give us suggestions for the upcoming con, suggest games and activities and apply for a panel, if you'd like to hold one. :3 Don't be shy to throw your two cents in and feel free to help us out with your ideas! ^^

We'd like to remind you that this year's theme will be:

~FANTASY / MEDIEVAL~

What is a Panel?

The convention gives its guest the opportunity to discuss themes of interest in the furry fandom, either in the form of a lecture (Classic Panel) or a debate (Talk). It'll also be possible to discuss themes that are unrelated to the furry aspect, but are related to the theme, as long as you can make them entertaining and of general interest.



What is an Activity?

An Activity is a form of panel in which the practical or recreational aspect is prevalent. It can be a workshop, a challenge, a demonstration/show and even a physical/sport activity (i.e. a short course of martial arts in a eastern themed Zampacon). Activities can also be unrelated to the furry aspect as long as they are related to the theme and can be interesting or fun enough.



What do I need to apply for a Panel?

● For a Classic Panel a slideshow presentation is required, so that it can be projected for its entire duration as an aid to the explanation and to hold the attention. The complete version of said presentation must be sent to the Staff, along with a text file with a detailed table of contents.
● For a Talk you simply have to provide a table of contents with the topics you'd like to debate and any material that you might want to display (pictures/videos) as an example or as a discussion subject.



What do I need to apply for an Activity?

If you'd like to suggest and Activity that you'd be willing to run, you should gather and bring along any material that might be required and provide us a program of the activity. The chances that we might be able to help you out by gathering some of the materials or covering the costs vary accordingly with our budget, the time at our hands and on a case by case basis.



How long does a Panel/Activity take?

To better fit our program, Panels can exist in two forms with different duration:
● Full-panel, lasting no longer than 90 minutes.
● Flash-panel, lasting no longer than 45 minutes.

The same durations will be applied to the Activities, with possible exceptions for those that may take more time.
The maximum length of the Panel/Activity will be assigned by the Staff and will be communicated after applying for your idea, based on the interestingness and the contents, with the aim of giving more time to the topics that can entertain the larger number of people.



How do I apply for a Panel/Activity?

● Make contacts with the Staff via PM on this forum or on our social network pages, explaining your idea (contents, related topics, number of participants, how it works and how it will be run).
● Wait for a reply from the Staff who might accept your application based on feasibility, time (also in relation with the number of other applications) and interestingness. Once we accept your application, we'll also communicate the maximum duration that has been assigned (flash panel or full panel).
● Once your application has been accepted you can start working on it, gathering the materials and preparing the required files (slideshow presentation/table of contents/program).
● Send the required files to the Staff (or share them via the web) no later than May the 31st, 2015. We strongly recommend to send us the files within a reasonable time in advance of the deadline, so that you'll have the time to apply any corrections that the Staff may require, especially if the Panel/Activity proved to be excessively long or too bland for the indicated duration. If the corrections are not implemented by the deadline the Panel/Activity will be rejected.


The Staff will do its best to give you the chance of exposing your work and present your idea in the most entertaining and effective way possible, but will also have to take into account and face the limits of time, spaces and materials that are inherent to the event; so it becomes essential to respect the deadlines and stay flexible about your idea, since we won't be able to edit our program once we print it in the conbooks and we must be as certain as we can get about your participation to the con and competence with your Panel/Activity. We count on you to keep our event getting better and better!



What are the criteria for the acceptance of the applications for Panels/Activities?

You can find the criteria for the acceptance of applications for Panels/Activities in the dedicated thread (link here!) under the "Statute e Rules" section.
Here are some examples of the application of those criteria.





With this thread we'd also like to invite you to give us any suggestion for the event, for the games, the dealer's den, for the management of our spaces and any other thing that you feel might help to improve the event, both by contacting us in PM or by writing it in reply to this post!

We're waiting for your applications and your suggestions, go on, we don't bite and we'd be glad to help you to share your interests and the passion for the furry universe that we all share!

See you soon!




P.S.

We really appreciated all the suggestions and feedbacks that we found in the suggestion box when we opened it (and we'll obviously take them in great consideration). Thank you!