Ecsite, the European network of science centres and museums, has announced that it will be providing financial assistance to eligible attendees of its 2-4 June 2022 conference.
Ecsite has announced a hospitality grant through which the event organiser expresses solidarity with science engagement institutions that may have been negatively impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The grant is designed to support organisations that want to send colleagues to this year’s Ecsite Conference. Eligible employees will be able to visit the event at Heilbronn, Germany, with the benefit of free accommodation from 1-5 June 2022.
Ecsite has teamed up with experimenta science centre, the conference host, to offer the grant, along with support from the Dieter Schwarz Foundation. Sixty-five rooms (single and double) have been booked at B&B Hotel Heilbronn, close to the conference venues.
The scheme is aimed at younger employees with career potential, excluding those already in premier management roles. Spots on the grant will be available to both Ecsite network members and to other organisations who are not Ecsite members, with a distribution of roughly 60% and 40% respectively.
Grant applications can be made until 23.59 on Monday 14 February 2022. To access the form, candidates are required to set up and log into their personal account on the Ecsite website. Following the deadline candidates will be selected and notified of the outcome by 21 February 2022.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a grant, attendees must meet certain criteria:
- Candidates must be aged 18-35 years old as of 1 January 2022
- Candidates must not be in a top management function (such as CEO, deputy CEO) at the institution they work. There is an exception made however for one-person enterprises and freelancers
- Candidates must work at an institution or enterprise which has faced or is facing financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
- Candidates must be able to express their motivation(s) for attending the Conference, explaining how it will positively contribute to their work
- Candidates must confirm the backing of their institution to pay other costs related to the Conference such as transportation and registration fees
- Organisations can have a maximum of two candidates participate
Early bird tickets
Conference ticket registration will open online on 9 February. Those who may not be eligible for a grant can still benefit from a super early bird rate, available for purchasers until 10 March. Following this date, those applying for the grant will have their spot cancelled if they have not registered.
Event speakers and convenors will also need to register in the same way as other participants, but can also apply for the hospitality grant if they meet the criteria outlined above.
Ecsite says that many attendees have already been making requests about accommodation in Heilbronn, and will be releasing more information on all the available options soon.
In November, Ecsite hosted its Directors Forum in Paris, discussing how the industry can progress forward, towards the conclusion of the pandemic.
