In the wake the World Health Organization’s recent decision to declare COVID-19 a global pandemic, the International Orthoptic Association (IOA), in close consultation with the Congress Local Organizing Committee from the British and Irish Orthoptic Society (BIOS) and the Congress Scientific Program Committee, has decided to postpone the 14th Congress of the International Orthoptic Association for 20-23 June 2020 in Liverpool, UK. Our main concern is the health of everyone involved and reducing potential health risks for our members.

By postponing, we are able to minimize costs to our association and keep the United Kingdom as our host for the 14th congress of the IOA. We are delighted to let you know that the dates for the Congress has now been confirmed as:

Thursday 9th – Sunday 12 June 2022

So what does this mean for 2020 attendees?

Booked to attend IOA 2020?

No action is required by anyone currently booked to attend IOA 2020, as you will be automatically transferred to the corresponding dates at IOA 2022.

Refunds?

We appreciate that the new date is over 2 years in advance we are happy to offer a full refund. We would just like to point out that  currency exchanges, if applicable, will affect the refunded amount, if negative the IOA will not cover these individual currency exchanges.

Please understand we are all currently working from home so our refund procedure may be longer than usual.

You don’t need to decide now, you can request a refund up until the 31st December 2020, this will give you time to make a decision on your registration.

If we don’t hear from you by the 31st December 2020 then your booking will automatically be transferred to the 2022 Congress.

Will my rates be secured?

All registrations that defer their booking to 2022 will be honoured for IOA 2022 at the 2020 registration fees, regardless of any amends or changes to your IOA Membership status.

We do estimate that there will be a slight increase in registration rates for 2022 if you cancel and re-book at a later stage.

Name changes

Anybody wishing to amend the name on a booking, so you can keep your booking for your Organisation, can do so free of charge at any time.

All registered delegates and submitters will be sent an individual email with a link to the booking page where we can record your requests and defer / refund your booking. Please check your ‘junk or spam’ folders if it is not in your in box.

 

Accommodation

If you’ve made a hotel booking through Liverpool Convention Bureau, you can cancel your booking via the link below:

https://book.passkey.com/go/IOA2020

1. Click ‘Manage Existing Reservation’
2. Enter acknowledgement number (this can be found on your confirmation email) and last name
3. Select ‘Cancel’
4. You will receive a cancellation confirmation email

If you are unsure of your cancellation policy or have any questions please email: conferences@marketingliverpool.co.uk and the team will confirm your reservation cancellation policy.

If you’ve made a direct hotel booking or through third party websites, for e.g. Booking.com. You will need to contact your hotel directly, we unfortunately cannot assist with direct hotel bookings. Please bear in mind that many hotels are currently closed so their response time may be delayed.

Exhibitors and Sponsors

We would like to thank all those who booked an exhibition stand and/or sponsorship package for IOA 2020. Your support is hugely appreciated. As above, all exhibitors and sponsors will be automatically transferred to the corresponding date/s at IOA 2022 or alternatively refunds are available in line with the delegate terms above.

Keynote Speakers

All keynote speakers will be contacted shortly to discuss their availability for the 2022 dates.

Note from Congress Scientific Program Committee (CSPC)

The CSPC committee would like to thank all authors who submitted an abstract for the XIVth International Congress. As a result of your efforts we were able to construct an exciting and diverse program of presentations and posters. Unfortunately due to the worldwide COVID situation this program will not be experienced. We are optimistic a rebuild of the program in 2 years will rival the 2020 program!

At this time we would like to provide some immediate information. It is expected science will continue to progress. Some of the data you were to present will still be topical and interesting, but for some there will be expectations to publish and move forward. In order to ensure attendees receive relevant and timely research we have outlined the current plan for the 2022 IOA Congress.

• Authors having an accepted abstract will have to re-submit when the next call for abstracts is made. The opening date is still to be determined. This pertains to all abstracts regardless if oral presentation or poster. It is expected and encouraged that any re-submitted abstract will have additional or updated data if possible. If the content remains of interest to international orthoptists, prior publication is allowed and will not be an exclusion criterion for 2022
• All accepted abstracts for the 2020 Congress will automatically be guaranteed a poster if formally re-submitted
• Authors re-submitting an abstract will still have the option to request a preference of ‘poster only’, ‘oral presentation only’, or ‘oral presentation preferred’. The Scientific Committee will review and rank all abstracts identified for consideration and will assigned as appropriate in the new program
• The balance of symposia, oral presentations, rapid-fire, and poster sessions may change in response to emerging circumstances, so we are unable to guarantee the same type of presentation to all authors
• New research topics will be accepted for review and will undergo the same review process as is done for each Congress. Abstracts of high interest and quality will be considered for inclusion in the new program
• Authors are reminded that acceptance of an abstract or acknowledgment of being short-listed for an IOA award for the 2020 Congress could be still reflected your curriculum vitae

 

Related FAQs:

What should I do as the author of an accepted presentation?

Authors are strongly encouraged to re-submit their abstract again for 2022.

Abstracts selected for oral presentations scored highly during the review process. Therefore, your abstract stands a good chance of being accepted as an oral presentation again, especially if it contains new data. However, the Scientific Committee cannot guarantee that all will be accepted for oral presentation in 2022. You are guaranteed a poster if you re-submit when the next call for abstracts comes out.

What should I do as the author of a poster in the rapid fire session?

The Scientific Committee is encouraging as many posters as possible for the next Congress. Therefore your accepted poster for the 2020 program will be guaranteed a position in the 2022 program if formally re-submitted when the call for abstracts is announced. However, we are unable to guarantee an oral presentation. Additional research data and updated abstracts will be encouraged to increase chances of being accepted as an oral presentation if requested by the author.

What should I do as the author of an accepted poster?

You will be guaranteed a poster for the 2022 Congress provided you re-submit when call for abstracts is announced. The Scientific Committee encourages you to continue working on your research and add or update data as possible. Authors are welcome to request their abstract be considered for an oral presentation in the 2022 program.

What happens if I have been considered for the IOA Research award?

The Research Award is awarded to an outstanding researcher in Orthoptics, who is likely to be an active researcher whose research will have further progressed by 2022. The Scientific Committee has decided that the fairest way to award the prize in response to these exceptional circumstances is to ask all those who have applied to re-apply for 2022. New applicants will also be accepted for review and possible consideration.

What happens if I have been considered for the IOA Early Career Scientist award?

You may have applied for the IOA Early Career Scientist Award in 2020, but by 2022 you might feel you would prefer to apply for the Research Award. If you still fulfil the criteria for both awards, you will only be able to apply for one.

What happens if I have been considered for the IOA Student award?

We thank all students who applied for this award, particularly those who were short listed. It was exciting to see the high level of student research occurring at the undergraduate and graduate level in our profession. Unfortunately due to these exceptional circumstances the award cannot be bestowed in 2020. Candidates who will no longer be registered as an active student in an Orthoptic training program at the time of the 2022 Congress will unfortunately not be eligible for the this award. Graduates who maintain on-going research related to their submitted abstract, or who develop new areas of research, may consider applying for the Early Career Scientist award in 2022.

What happens if I am a Workshop presenter?

Our plan is to keep the same Workshop topics. We will communicate with Workshop organizers to discuss a plan to confirm presenter participation in 2022.

What happens if I am an Education forum presenter?

Our plan is to keep the session similar to the 2020 program. Invited authors will be contacted in the near future about your participation in 2022.

Publication options in Special issue of Strabismus – Notice to all authors of an accepted abstract

Following the postponement of the IOC meeting in June we are exploring the potential for continuing with a special edition of Strabismus. Before making a final decision regarding the feasibility of this, we would like to know how many authors intend to submit a paper to this special edition. The format of the papers will be either a short report (1500 words) or a standard length paper (see journal website for details) and will be submitted for peer review. If you could please email Dr Anna O’Connor annaoc@liverpool.ac.uk by May 1, 2020 if you intend to submit for this special edition of Strabismus, we would greatly appreciate it.

If you have any additional queries, please do feel free to contact us by email: ioa@kc-jones.co.uk Please understand we are all currently working from home so our responses may be longer than usual.

Thank you to everyone for their continued support and understanding during these uncertain times. We wish you all the very best and we very look much look forward to seeing you in 2022.

Stay safe and take care.

David Newsham

Chair of the IOA Local Organising Committee