- What is the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences?
- Where will Congress 2021 be held?
- What is the Congress theme?
- Which associations are holding their annual conference at Congress 2021?
- Where is the next Congress being held?
- Where can I find information and videos from past Congresses?
Congress policies
- What is the Code of Conduct policy?
- Is my information secure?
- What should I do if I am cyberbullied on social media regarding my research for Congress?
- What impact will the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have on Congress 2021?
Presenting at Congress
- How do I respond to a call-for-papers for Congress?
- I am a presenter. What do I need to know to prepare?
- I am presenting at Congress, do I still need to pay the registration fees?
- Does the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences offer any funding opportunities for Congress?
Program and events
- Where can I find out what is happening at Congress?
- My scholarly association is holding a conference at Congress. How do I find my association’s program?
- How do I use the online calendar of open events?
- Which events can I attend?
- Which events are open to the public?
- Do I need to pay to attend open events?
Fees
- What are the registration fees?
- What is the difference between the Congress fees and the association conference fees?
- Do I qualify for complimentary access to Congress?
- I have already paid my association membership fee. Do I still have to pay the association’s conference fee?
Registration
- When does registration open?
- When is the early bird registration deadline?
- Is there a deadline to register?
- Where do I get my receipt?
- How do I register online?
- What is my username and password?
- I started registering for Congress 2021 but did not complete my form and/or make payment. How do I get back to the form to complete it?
- I am having trouble registering online, what can I do?
- How do I verify my registration, make changes or add another association conference fee?
- How do I cancel my registration and obtain a refund?
- What is the cancellation policy?
- Can I register by telephone or mail?
- What are the payment options?
- Do I have to be a member of an association to attend the association’s conference at Congress?
- How do I register as an international attendee?
General Congress
Q. What is the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences?
A. Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences is the convergence of over 70 scholarly associations to each hold their annual conference under one umbrella. Organized by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and hosted by a different Canadian university each year, Congress is a place to share research and promote interdisciplinary perspectives. One of Canada’s largest academic gatherings, it also features the country’s biggest academic trade show. The Federation, the host university, scholarly associations and partners develop a week of presentations, workshops, panels, public lectures, cultural events and receptions. The result? Luminaries, researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and students from across Canada and abroad meet, share ideas and engage in discussions that have direct importance for Canada and the lives of Canadians.
Q. Where will Congress 2021 be held?
A. Congress 2021 will take place virtually.
Q. What is the Congress theme?
A. The Congress 2021 theme is "Northern Relations" and associations are encouraged to build programming inspired by the theme. Find out more
Q. Which associations are holding their annual conference at Congress 2021?
A. The associations listed here are participating in Congress 2021.
Q. Where is the next Congress being held?
A. Information about future Congresses can be found on the Federation's website.
Q. Where can I find information and videos from past Congresses?
A. Please visit the Federation’s website for information about previous Congresses and links to videos, blog posts and more.
Congress policies
Q: What is the Code of Conduct policy?
A. The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences works actively to foster a diverse, welcoming, and inclusive global community of scholars and practitioners, and is therefore dedicated to the creation of a safe, respectful, and collegial experience for all attendees of Congress. More information about the Code of Conduct can be found here.
Q: Is my information secure?
A: Your information is secure. You can read the Federation’s Privacy Code here.
Q: What should I do if I am cyberbullied on social media regarding my research for Congress?
A. Cyberbullying is real, and seven per cent of Canadians experience it personally, according to Statistics Canada. If you are the victim of online harassment or bullying, there are resources available to you and Congress organizers encourage you to use them. See the Royal Canadian Mounted Police website resources or the Government of Canada site on How to prevent cyberbullying.
Presenting at Congress
Q. How do I respond to a call-for-papers for Congress?
A. The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences is not responsible for calls for papers. To present at Congress, you must approach your scholarly association and inquire directly about their call-for-papers process. A full list of associations participating in Congress is available here.
Q. I am a presenter. What do I need to know to prepare?
A. You will need to register for Congress just like a regular attendee, but you should also discuss the available technology with the Program Chair for your association. You should also consider making your presentation accessible; consult the Info for Presenters page for more details.
Q. I am presenting at Congress, do I still need to pay registration fees?
A. Yes. The payment of both the Congress fee and the association conference fee is mandatory for all attendees including speakers, presenters, panelists and those chairing or attending a session.
Q. Does the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences offer any funding opportunities for Congress?
A. Yes, three programs are available. For more information see here.
Program and events
Q. Where can I find out what is happening at virtual Congress?
A. See the Program section of the website for full details on what is happening at Congress and visit the Association conferences page to look up conference information. You can use the online calendar of open events to find a specific event or filter by date to see a list of events that are happening on a particular day, including both academic and cultural events. You can also take a look at pages such as Big Thinking, Career Corner or University of Alberta programming for descriptions of these program series.
Q. My scholarly association is holding a conference at Congress. How do I find my association’s program?
A. To find your association’s program, first find your association and click on the link to find details about the association’s conference, including call-for-papers deadlines, conference programs, conference organizers and open events. Draft and final versions of programs will be posted here as they become available.
Q. How do I use the online calendar of open events?
A. The online calendar of open events lists all events that are open to all registered attendees and the public and can be explored in many ways. For a simple search, type in a keyword such as a speaker’s name or an association’s acronym. Alternatively, to narrow search results, filter by date, series, language or host association. When you have entered all of your search criteria, click “Search” to see the results. You can choose how the search results are displayed by clicking on a column header in the search results table to sort by that field. Click it a second time to switch between ascending and descending. Once you have identified an event of interest, click on its name to find out more. Click “Reset” to view all open events or to begin a new search.
Q. Which events can I attend?
A. Anyone who has registered for Congress and has paid the Congress fee may attend all the events listed in the online calendar of open events. Additionally, anyone who has also registered for an association conference and has paid the relevant Association conference fee may attend any session hosted by that association. Members of the public who wish to attend open events only may obtain a Community pass.
Q. Which events are open to the public?
A. All the events listed in the online calendar of open events are open to the public.
Q. Do I need to pay to attend open events?
A. If you’ve already registered to attend your association’s conference, you can access all open events listed in the online calendar. If you are a member of the general public, please obtain a Community pass in order to be allowed in those events.
Fees
Q. What are the registration fees?
A. The registration fees are available here. The Congress fees and association conference fees vary depending on your category (regular, retired, student, unwaged) and the date upon which you register. To receive the best discount, register with the early bird rate before March 31. Rates increase on April 1 (regular rate).
Q. What is the difference between the general Congress fees and the association conference fees?
A. Review the descriptions of the Congress fees and the association conference fees.
Q. Do I qualify for complimentary access to Congress?
A. For 2021, we are offering complimentary access under certain categories for Black and Indigenous participants:
- If you are attending an association conference at Congress and are a student who self-identifies as Black or Indigenous, your Congress fee is waived. Contact your association for your unique registration link. Please note, a complimentary Congress fee does not waive your association fee. Check with your association to see if they are waving your association fee or offering a fee discount.
- If you are purchasing a community pass to attend open events only and you self-identify as Black or Indigenous, your community pass is complimentary.
Questions? View this registration flowchart or email congress@ideas-ideas.ca
Q. I have already paid my association membership fee. Do I still have to pay the association’s conference fee?
A. Yes. All attendees are required to pay the association’s conference fee to attend or participate at Congress. The association conference fee is not your membership fee. The association conference fees are collected by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences on behalf of the associations at Congress. Membership fees are paid directly to your association and are not usually collected at Congress. For information about membership, contact your association directly.
Registration
Q. When does registration open?
A. Registration opens in January 2021.
Q. When is the early bird registration deadline?
A. The early bird deadline is March 31, 2021. The fees increase after this date.
Q. Is there a deadline to register?
A. There is no deadline to register online; you can register from January until Congress ends.
A. Visit the Congress registration portal and follow the instructions. When you register, your account will be created with the use of your email address (username) and you will be prompted to create a password. If you are booking a group of registrations, each registration you create requires a unique email address.
Q. What is my username and password?
A. If you have registered for any event organized by the Federation since June 2019 via our new registration system, you can log in to your profile by using your email address (username) and the password you provided initially. Forgot your password? Select the “reset password” link and you will receive an email and link to reset your password.
Q. I started registering for Congress 2021 but did not complete my form and/or make payment. How do I get back to the form to complete it?
A. You should receive an email from the registration system with a link to return to your “incomplete registration form”. Can’t wait for the email? Just select “Start a New Registration” and begin again.
Q. I am having trouble registering online, what can I do?
A. Please check the following:
- Is your registration form complete? Please ensure that all required fields, marked with an asterisk (*), are filled in. You will not be able to proceed to the next page unless you have.
- Is your credit card payment information accurate? Ensure you have entered your credit card number and other required fields correctly. If you still receive an error, verify with your bank whether your card allows online payments.
- Is JavaScript enabled on your web browser, and is your browser up-to-date? You may need to update your software or try again from a different computer.
If you are still having issues, contact congress@ideas-idees.ca.
Q. How do I verify my registration, make changes or add another association conference fee?
A. Return to the Congress registration portal and click on “Modify your existing registration” or click on the link in your confirmation email. Enter your email address (username) and the password you created to access your registration, and then make the necessary changes or additions.
Q. How do I cancel my registration and obtain a refund?
A. Return to the Congress registration portal and click on “I want to modify my Congress 2021 registration”. Enter your username and password to access your account, and then click on “Refund request”.
Q. What is the cancellation policy?
A. Cancellations are accepted until April 15, 2021, subject to a $25 administration fee. Unfortunately, no refunds are possible after this date.
Q. Can I register by telephone or mail?
A. No, online registration is the only registration method for Congress 2021. If you have any questions about this process, please contact congress@ideas-idees.ca.
Q. What are the payment options?
A. The payment options are listed here.
Q. Do I have to be a member of an association to attend the association’s conference at Congress?
A. No, you do not need to be a member of an association to attend a conference at Congress; however, the association conference fees are generally higher for non-members. If you wish to become a member, you should contact your association prior to registering.
Q. How do I register as an international attendee?
A. You can register in the same way as other attendees.