Dateline: 02-26-2009

2009 Potential CONvergence Panels Now Online!

The CONvergence 2009 Programming Department is pleased to announce that our preliminary list of panels for the convention is now online.

The format may look slightly different this year, as we are utilizing Google Docs to host our spreadsheet. You can access our comprehensive list of panels (which currently stands at over 375 items!) using the following link:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=picadIOeLv4DDZ7iDkJomUQ

If that link does not work or stops working at some point in the future, you can also utilize this backup link.

Panelist Details
Anyone can be a panelist. You just have to be knowledgeable and passionate about the subject matter, respectful of others, able to listen to and respond to differences of opinion, and have a willingness to be flexible as the programming grid and timeslots take shape over the coming months.

We in the programming department want to make sure you don’t overextend yourself during the weekend. Additionally, the convention membership appreciates a variety of opinions and viewpoints on topics throughout the weekend. We can best serve these two goals by limiting panelists to no more than 8 panels over the four-day convention weekend.

If you have a friend, acquaintance, mortal enemy, or colleague you’d like to sit alongside you during the panel, that person will have to contact us directly. Please don't email us and say "I'd like John Smith to sit the panel with me, he's a friend of mine." John will have to contact us separately with a valid email address to be placed on the panel alongside you.

Typically, most panels are considered "full" when five or six people have agreed to sit the panel. We'll be scheduling these "full" panels on the programming grid once we get 5-6 individuals willing to sit the panel. So if you really want a panel to get on the schedule, ask your friends to contact us directly to volunteer to be panelists and we'll make it happen.

If you have already registered for the convention and are interested in sitting on some of the panels (don’t forget you get to earn volunteer hours by doing so), please email programming@convergence-con.org