A message from the BledCom symposium organisers we are happy to share with you: the Covid-19 emergence could force some of you to stay in your country, but you will be able to attend the symposium virtually with a special discounted fee.

Dear BledCom friends and authors of BledCom 2020 abstracts,

We are in early April and the COVID-19 pandemic is still making international travel nearly impossible, although the good news is that in parts of Asia the worst seems to be over. In Europe the situation is varying from a country to a country (in Slovenia we expect the peak in the mid-April, which would enable us to lower travel restrictions from May on – but these are still projections. Unfortunately, the situation in countries like Italy and Spain are not yet under control and we send out best wishes to our colleagues in these countries hoping that everything goes well in the near future. As we write, the US is entering into a virus storm with over 5,000 deaths already, while other parts of the world may see an increase in infections. These are VUCA circumstances under which we plan BledCom 2020 symposium.

It looks more likely that we will be forced to make BledCom 2020 digilogue with some participants presenting and participating digitally (on-line) while others who can travel may do so in person (analogue). It will be a special event for those of us who will be in Bled, but we will also do our best to make it as meaningful as possible for on-line participants.

Similar to other organisations (ICA is but one example), we will make digital participation asynchronous. We have received abstracts from authors in over 30 countries and five continents and will need to cater to various time-zones. We had announced that our program would be online in March. But given the uncertainties before us, we think it is most prudent for us to publish the names of all authors (and the titles of their presentations) in alphabetical order for now.  As we get more clarity on the travel bans, etc., we will publish a more definitive program taking into account who will be in Bled in person and who will participate digitally. In the program section of the BledCom website you can see a list of the accepted papers and panels.

As we have already announced, we intend to offer a 75% discount on the registration fees for authors who will be unable to attend in person and are thus forced to make digital presentations. Please note that we will still have conference expenses beyond coffee/snacks and lunch. Given the fluidity of the situation, we will provide you with regular updates as things warrant.

We are hopeful that this situation returns to normalcy soon and we can all come to Bled in July for BledCom’s 27th edition. However, we also realize that this situation is beyond our control and so we will monitor things and keep you informed. We also welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Please send them to: bledcom@fdv.uni-lj.si

We wish all the best,
Dejan Verčič, Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, Ana Tkalac Verčič