Nov. 5th & 6th: 2020 Plant Record Conference - ONLINE event -

Edit: We no longer accept proposals for the programme, but feel free to send us questions for the IrisBG session. ⏭ Speakers announced for the 2020 Plant Records Conference - Online - Nov. 5th & 6th

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At last we can welcome you to join the 2020 Plant Records Conference!

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the conference will be held online. We hope that the online format allows more of you to join, and we are working hard to create a conference in a format where you, our community, are able to engage and share ideas.

You can read about the conference below, but to read the full description including the preliminary agenda and to register please visit the 2020 Plant Record Conference-page.

Registration is open until October 29th. The number of available places is limited.

New date and time 
November 5th and 6th
Central European Time: 14.00-17.30 
US Eastern Time: 8 am-11.30 pm 

We hope to virtually meet you!

Kind regards,
Øyvind Rustan and Mari Rustan
IrisBG/Compositae AS

Call for papers 
Do you or your colleagues have an issue you would like to discuss with peers? Or a topic you want to address?

In our discussion sessions a topic will be presented by one from the community, followed by a breakout session where smaller groups can discuss their point of views. Each session is concluded with the sharing of their findings back to all participants.

Contact Mari or Margherita if you would like to present at the conference.

Ask us anything
Do you have questions for the developers of IrisBG? We welcome any type of questions, big or small. What we cannot make time for at a conference will be followed up in another capacity.

On Friday November 6th IrisBG will have a session including a Q&A.
Please send your question(s) to Mari.

2020 Plant Record Conference | Call for papers | Fee & Registrations | Preliminary agenda 
Mainz Botanic Garden | Questions/suggestions?

Starting off in 2016 as a European conference for users of IrisBG, this annual event has evolved
into a platform of idea sharing about plant records and collection management
with participants from all over the world.

2020 Plant Records Conference

Adapting to an online conference, we have reduced the programme to 3,5 hours per day with extensive use of virtual breakout rooms with a maximum of 5 participants, to create an intimate atmosphere. Primarily, we aim to facilitate the exchange of ideas amongst the record keeping community, to learn and to inspire each other. We believe in inclusive collection management and our ambition is to make this conference a platform for everyone involved in the record keeping process from all departments of a botanical garden.

If you would like to learn more about how to participate in the conference you can join our conference dress rehearsal on November 2nd where we share tips and tricks, including simulating virtual break rooms.
 
As in previous years, the main focus will be on the challenges participants face in relation to record keeping and collection management. It will include a keynote speech, four short presentations from the community with extensive breakout sessions and a Q&A session with the developers of IrisBG and Floria at the end of the conference.
 
We will reserve some time for Mainz Botanic Garden to share some aspects from their wonderful garden, including a virtual tour.

With the exception of the virtual breakout rooms, the rest of the conference will be recorded and made available to the community.

Call for papers

Do you have an interesting challenge or topic you would like to share? Our conference format is a great opportunity to receive feedback and create engagement regarding topics you find difficult or interesting. Please contact Margherita Tinti (margherita@botanicalsoftware.com) or Mari Rustan (mari@irisbg.com) if you would like to present at the conference.

Fee and registration

Conference fee (Thursday and Friday): €20 per delegate

Registration is open until October 29th. The number of available places is limited.
For registration, please go to the 2020 Plant Record Conference-page.

Pre-conference Dress Rehearsal (optional)

Monday November 2nd at 15:00 CETime / 09:00am EST
Optional Pre-conference dress rehearsal for anyone who would like to become more comfortable with online conference participation.

Preliminary agenda
Thursday November 5th

Both the discussion topics and the keynote presentation will include break out sessions with discussions in smaller groups. A final agenda will be published closer to the conference date.

13:45 Conference room opens
14:00 CET | 08:00 am EST (45 minutes)

• Welcome and warming up
• Introduction to Mainz Botanic Garden

14:45 Keynote presentation by Maximilian Weigend incl. interactive session (60 minutes) 
15:45 First discussion topic incl. interactive session (45 minutes)
16:30 Second discussion topic incl. interactive session (45 minutes)
17:15 Wrap up
17:30 Optional online social event

Friday November 6th

13:45 Conference room opens
14:00 Central European Time | 08:00 am US Eastern Time (30 minutes)

• Welcome and summary of Thursday’s programme and preparation for today

14:30 Third discussion topic incl. interactive session (45 minutes) 
15:15 Fourth discussion topic incl. interactive session (45 minutes)
16:00 Presentation from developers of IrisBG, Compositae AS (35 minutes)

• Q & A 

16:35 Presentation from developers of Floria, Botanical Software Ltd. (35 minutes)

• Q & A

17:10 Conference Summary and Send Off

Mainz Botanic Garden (visit Garden Explorer)

Mainz University Botanic Garden is located on campus at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, which with 31,000 students is one of the largest and most diverse universities in Germany. The garden covers 9 hectares and has a collection of more than 8,000 different taxa. Due to its location in one of the warmest and driest areas in Germany, plants of the steppe regions and of Mediterranean origin can be grown outdoors. Initially a purely scientific garden for research and teaching, in the last few decades Mainz Botanic Garden has developed into an open and versatile institution supporting the attainment and transfer of knowledge within the university and beyond. Today, the garden’s Green School offers a broad educational programme and the garden itself supports plant conservation projects.

Something on your mind?
We would love to hear from you. Get in touch with Mari.