Call for Speakers – NE District Conference
NE District Conference
The Rochester chapter of PRSA is excited to host this year’s Northeast District Conference. More information on the conference will be available soon, please read below to submit a proposal to speak at this year’s event.
CALL FOR SPEAKERS: PRSA NORTHEAST DISTRICT CONFERENCE: Rochester, NY
“Blurred Lines: PR and the New Age of Communication and Journalism”
Planning has begun for the 2014 Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Northeast District’s annual conference! The PRSA Rochester Chapter (Rochester, NY), is thrilled to host this year’s conference, “Blurring the Lines: The New PR Invasion of Marketing, Media and Mindshare” (Date: Sept. 18 – 19 2014: stay tuned for more details). With more than 250 practitioners and students estimated to attend from across the country’s Northeast region, we’re in need of dynamic presenters who can motivate and energize an audience on the latest and greatest tools, techniques, trends and industry knowledge.
Who Can Submit a Proposal?
We are seeking numerous candidates from an array of backgrounds and professional experiences: seasoned, mid-level and beginner/young-professional-related topics. Seeking public relations and communications professionals, in addition to others in the marketing/communications/social media and media industries. However, many of us also interact with legal representatives and other professionals in a multitude of industries each and every day, so what matters most: timely topics, compelling materials, and the drive to present great thought leadership, while inspiring others. If you have presented on a particular topic previously, we’d love to hear about it!
What Kind of Sessions Are Available?
We’re really looking to you to chat about trends that are driving and shaping the communications landscape at-large, and inform attendees with forward-looking trends. If you’re doing something awesome, share it with us. As a starting point, here are the conference formats we’ll offer this year:
1) Main Conference Breakout Sessions: More “traditional” sessions during the main conference, typically 45-50 minutes long. We’re aiming to have a set of specified “tracks,” grouping talks by topic, hosted in the same room for consecutive sessions. Your proposals and content will help us shape what those broader tracks will ultimately look like; although the specific topic for discussion is up to you.
2) Unconferencing Talks: Want to talk about an issue you’re dealing with, or hear from others on a specified topic, such as crisis communications? Want to share examples from past and current work experiences? Then unconferencing talks are for you! We’re looking for moderators to run these talks on a specific topic, provide personal stories and tidbits to help move along the conversation, and encourage the group to discuss what’s happening in their world. Unconferencing talks are low-stress and provide attendees with the creative energy that can only be gained from reflective dialogue with industry peers. (Did we mention these sessions are also new this year?)
3) Trainings: We know there are some topics and discussions that can extend into longer-term engaging dialogues. With our interactive workshop formats, attendees will have yet another option to gain more in-depth training and hands-on learning in a classroom-like setting. We’re aiming for workshops that will help advance attendees in their current and future roles in the industry. Some potential examples: PR measurement, crisis communications, how to create and execute real-time video, etc. These workshops will kick-off the conference this year, as they’ll be presented in a half-day format, preceding the main conference.
What’s Needed to Submit a Proposal?
Here’s all you need to submit a proposal:
- Title of presentation
- Brief summary of presentation (500 characters maximum)
- Selected session format
- Biography of each presenter (500 characters maximum)
- Professional headshot and any relevant social handles (Twitter handle, LinkedIn, etc.)
- Past presentation reference(s)
If you think you have a topic, but aren’t sure how to propose it, contact the PRSA Northeast District Conference program committee and we’ll work with you. We’d love to help you come up with a great proposal!
When’s the Deadline?
Deadline for Proposals: April 30, 2014, by 5 p.m. EST
Notification of Acceptance: June 25, 2014, by 5 p.m. EST
*Note that all presenters will receive complimentary registration to the conference.
How Should Proposals be Submitted?
On our website here or via email at nedistrictconference@prsarochester.org.
*A conference committee member will be in touch within 1-2 weeks to confirm your proposal has been accepted.