Proposals for 2020 Storytelling Session
The submission period is now closed. Thank you for your interest in being part of Neuroscience 2020.
Sheena Josselyn, PhD - Chair, 2020 Program Committee
The Program Committee invites the SfN membership to submit proposals for the Storytelling Session to be held at Neuroscience 2020. Proposal submitters must be active SfN members.
The Storytelling Session invites presenters to share content through the art of storytelling. Through storytelling, personal narrative brings science to life. Narrative used by the presenters should engage the audience. Current research shows that storytelling is more effective at transmitting data than facts, and that facts alone do not change minds in the broader non-scientific community. Proposals for the Storytelling Session should engage narrative communication to forge citizen-scientist relationships, connect with audiences through stories, and highlight non-traditional venues for scientific communication.
An effective Storytelling Session proposal should appeal to a broad section of scientists. Topics should be centered around how scientists can communicate within and outside of the scientific community by telling stories related to their experiences. Past sessions have involved presenters speaking about factors that influenced their career paths, the science behind why people connect through stories, and how scientists can communicate to a lay audience.
Finally, in 2020, SfN will be celebrating its 50th annual meeting. The Committee encourages proposals that incorporate a theme of looking to the past, present, and future of neuroscience.
Participants
The Storytelling Session will consist of three to six speakers who have applied through this process. Diversity and inclusion are organizational priorities of SfN and programming must ensure representation of all members. SfN encourages and promotes participation, accessibility, active representation and leadership from diverse populations. Recognizing that diversity advances the field of neuroscience, SfN encourages membership and participation, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic status, disability, age and religion. Beyond promoting diversity, the Society promotes an environment that is supportive of all diverse groups in the interest of advancing science.
Appropriate representation of gender diversity, international scientists, and underrepresented minorities is strongly encouraged and will be considered in the selection of the Storytelling Session by the Program Committee.
Funding
Presenters will receive half-price registration and early housing. Do not propose a speaker, member or nonmember, residing outside North America unless you are sure that they already plan to attend the annual meeting.
When to Put It Together
The Program Committee selects the Storytelling Session in February, in time to include the final title in the Preliminary Program. Your proposal, therefore, must be submitted by 5 p.m. EST, Tuesday, January 7, 2020.
Proposal Requirements
Proposals originate from SfN’s vast membership. Proposal submitters must be active SfN members. The site will direct you to provide the following (all character limits include spaces):
- Contact information (institutions, emails, addresses)
- Titles for the overall session and each story or presentation
- Name of a host for your session. This does not have to be the session organizer.
- For each presenter, indicate whether the presentation will be in a lecture or a story format.
- Publicly accessible links to storytellers’ past storytelling presentations, if applicable
- Overall session description for use in the annual meeting Program and Neuroscience Meeting Planner (500 characters)
- Overall objectives for how your proposed session, is timely, relates to the field, or uses narrative communication to connect with the audience (1500 characters)
- The extent to which your session could have a broad appeal for the membership (500 characters)
- Other considerations that may make the proposal attractive (500 characters)
General
Final selection is made by the Program Committee; whose primary consideration is to determine what will best serve the interests of the Society for Neuroscience and the success of the annual meeting. Note that proposals that fail to be accommodated one year will not be held over for consideration the next. However, a proposal can be re-submitted the following year and will receive the same consideration as any other submission.
The Program Committee reserves the right to alter or combine proposals in the best interest of the annual meeting program. This includes adding and removing presenters, suggesting different hosts, etc.
For more information, contact SfN staff at (202) 962-4000 or email program@sfn.org.
