The International Society of City and Regional Planners is now accepting applications for Congress Team Members for the upcoming joint 5th Urban Economy Forum + 59th ISOCARP World Planning Congress (UEF5+WPC59) in Toronto, Canada, 10-13 October 2023!

We would like to invite planning practitioners, academics and policymakers with interest, experience and knowledge of the congress theme, to apply and become members of our Congress Team.. The Congress Team takes up the very significant role of selecting the contributions, co-chairing the track sessions and providing track reporting.

Please refer to the Congress Concept Note for a detailed view of the Congress Theme and Tracks.

        Your responsibilities :  

• Review the submitted abstracts of research papers and case studies and select the best ones to be presented in the Congress.
• Based on the received abstracts, formulate the sub-themes of the track into track sessions. Communicate with authors as necessary, with the guidance of the Secretariat.
• Prepare a written introductory description of your Track as a whole.
• Prepare separate short descriptions of its different sub-sessions
• Send regular promotional materials to the Secretariat for marketing and communication purposes and/or promote the respective track cover on their own social media accounts (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)
• Draft the structure of each Session (order of speakers)
• After submitting the final full research papers and case study reports (in July), read the submitted papers/reports, evaluate them and send requests to authors for improvements, as necessary. Follow up with improved submissions.
• Finalise the structure of Sessions.
• Select the three best papers/reports of your track to be published in the Congress Recap.
• Coordinate and chair the track sessions and workshops during the Congress in-person and online.
• Summarise the track results in a presentation for the concluding plenary session of the in-person Congress.
• Prepare a written conclusion and track summary for the Congress Recap publication right after the Congress.

Your Benefits

As per ISOCARP policy, Congress Team Members shall receive free Congress registration, acknowledgment, and visibility in all Congress publications. However, travel and accommodation expenses are not covered and shall be borne by the Congress Team Members themselves.

By applying for this role, applicants understand that this position is voluntary work (without monetary compensation) that requires commitment until the entire delivery and completion of the joint UEF5+WPC59 in Toronto, Canada, including the post-congress deliverables.

 Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants are expected to have interest, experience and knowledge related to the Congress theme and of the respective track they select
• We welcome applicants from practice, academia as well as policy.
• Applicants must have attended at least one ISOCARP Congress in the past.
• Applicants must already be ISOCARP members.
• Applicants should take into account the time commitment for this position before applying.

 How to apply

 If you are interested in volunteering as a Congress Team Member at the Congress, please send your CV and a letter of intent (no more than 250 words) to congress@isocarp.org. In your application, you should indicate the following:

• Your preferred track and why you chose that specific track
• Your relevant experience from practice, academia, or policy
• Which previous ISOCARP Congress have you attended
• Whether you will be able to travel to Toronto (candidates not able to travel to Toronto can be considered)

Application deadline

 29 March  2023

 We are looking forward to receiving your applications from the private, public and academic sectors and from all over the world! In selecting Congress Team Members, we will consider the candidates’ qualifications, motivation and experience as well as gender and regional balances.