Dear VAD2024 conference delegate,

With just one week left until our VAD2024 hybrid conference kicks off, this email aims to help you reach the university reception desk, navigate the conference week, and ensure you have a successful conference experience.

VAD2024 is a hybrid conference, meaning that face-to-face (in person) sessions in Bayreuth will be streamed onine via Zoom, recorded, and can be viewed later. We endevour to upload recordings in about 4 hours after the session end.

Please see instructions on how to access conference online at the end of the travel letter.

Conference reception desk
We open the reception desk already on Sunday to avoid queues on Monday morning. If you have arrived to Bayreuth on (or even before) Sunday, please come and find the conference venue and check in at the reception desk to receive your badge.

Young Scholars Forum
There is also a Young Scholars Forum taking place on Sunday. This is an event organised by young researchers and takes place just before the VAD2024 conference.

The website's travel page has comprehensive information; it includes tips on how to use the local public transport system and find the venues. If you key ‘Rechts- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften I building’ into Google Maps, it gives you adequate travel options once you’ve arrived at the train/bus station at Bayreuth.

What to bring (or procure on the spot):

• Weather: according to the weather forecast the daily temperature will be around 17 °C and 9-10 °C at night, with a good chance of rain - so make sure you bring warm clothing and a rainproof jacket. Layering is a good idea in case weather turns and you need to peel some off!
• Formal clothing: the social event on Monday evening is not a formal event  - this is more about socialising and having a good time, so no formal white tie event dresscode is required. That said, we do encourage expressions of free spirit, style and good sense! 
• Presentation files: bring a USB or another portable device to transfer your presentation files on the day. All panel rooms will have a laptop connected with Zoom and projector. You cannot use your own laptop to present!
• Other necessaries to bring: those not from the EU should bring an adaptor for the EU standard electrical sockets (two-pole, round-pin domestic). Remember to bring chargers for all your various devices (and perhaps a battery bank), as it is optimal to navigate the programme electronically.

Taxis in Bayreuth

Notice that Uber and Bolt app services are not available in Bayreuth. You can hail a taxi from 2 main taxi stops:

• at the train station “Hauptbahnhof” and
• in the town centre in the main pedestrian zone.

Usually, taxis are available there at any time.

Taxis can be ordered:

• by phone directly at the taxi company,e.g., Taxi Union +49 (0)921 22 333, Taxi Kroter +49 (0)921 6 44 55 (for a full list see the Yellow Pages [in German])
• via the Taxi.de website or the Taxi.de app
• at the hotel reception or the conference registration desk

A taxi ride costs a basic fee of 3.90 - 4.90 € plus 1.70 - 2.30 € per kilometer, depending on the time of the day (see also the official tariff [in German]). An additional fee for heavy luggage may apply.

A ride from the train station to the university takes abpout 10 min and costs approximately 15-16 €.

Prices are per car, not per person. Larger taxis for up to 6 persons are available on request.

Most taxis accept cash as well as major credit and debit cards. Please notify the driver if you need a receipt.

If you arrive on Sunday, we recommend going first to your accommodation, leaving your luggage and only then coming to the conference venue to check in, thus avoiding the stressed crowd wanting to get their badges and disappear to their panels on Monday early morning.

If you have time it might be worth going for a walk on the campus to get your bearings so that you know your way around easily on the following days (find the Mensa where lunch is offered etc).

We  have added maps to the online conference programme ('reception' and 'lunch'), so you can navigate the conference venue more easily.

There's also a downloadable PDF University Campus map here you can use offline.

If you arrive on Monday make sure you arrive early (we open reception at 9:00) and come to the reception to get your badge.

The conference opening keynote starts at 11:00.

The Reception desk (located in the foyer at Rechts- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften I building) is open:

• Sunday 11:00-15:00
• Monday 09:00-18:00
• Tuesday 08:00-18:00
• Wednesday 08:30-14:00

Please do not try to check in at the Reception desk before it opens or after it has closed.

Once you've reached the Reception desk, the volunteer team will check if you have registered and are paid-up - and if all is in order, they will check you in and hand you your badge. You can then go on to enjoy the congress.

Please use the timetable page on the VAD2024 website to find your panels and events. You can use the search function at the top of the page to enter keywords, authors' names or panel reference numbers to find things quickly.

If you are yet to settle the fees: PLEASE, pretty please - try to do this before Monday 30 September online, by card.

Otherwise, those needing to settle their conference fees will need to come to the conference organisers' office at room S 61 (close to the Reception desk), only receiving their badge from  Reception after the debt is settled at the office.

The office is small and filled with busy and stressed-out organisers, so for the sake of public health, safety and hygiene I implore that you all settle the fees before the event…

Registration includes coffee/tea and lunch (Mon, Tue, Wed). Refreshment breaks will take place at the RW I building foyer, next to the Reception desk, while lunch is served at the Mensa (short walk a way).

Make sure you have your badge with you at the mensa for lunch, as you'll need to show this to the cashier!

The best way to access the internet at the university is with your own Eduroam credentials.

Those without Eduroam can make use of @BayernWLAN network at the Univeristy campus. To do that: 

• Connect to @BayernWLAN (SSID)
• Open any http-page (NOT https!) in the browser (if it does not open automatically)
• Accept user agreement and click on "Connect"

You can find the publishers and other exhibitors one floor up from the Foyer area (where the reception desk is).

We have present:

• Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA)
• LIT Verlag - Berlin
• BayFOR - Funding opportunities and support for international research projects
• From idea to text in less than 30 minutes: Focused writing workshop for academics
• Frobenius Institut
• Africa Spectrum (German Institute for Global and Area Studies)
• German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)

Also we have several book launches taking place over the 3 days of conference, see the conference programme for details

If you need to print your presentation or another document, please try to do it at your hotel, as the university does not have printing available for non-university employees.

If you have an emergency printing need, the conference office can print small documents for €0.50 per page (paid in cash). 

For those who need a quiet place to go with their babies, please head to the room S 63 (RW I).

If you need to work, please head to the room S 47 (RW II).

If you need a quiet room for quiet reflexion, meditation, composing yourself in a moment of anxiety, please ask the Reception desk where you can head to.

• During the conference, conference-related emergency messages should be sent to vad(at)nomadit.co.uk
• You can also come see us in the conference office during reception opening hours.
• The emergency numbers in Germany are:
  • 112 is used for fire and medical assistance emergencies.
  • 110 is used for emergencies requiring the police.
• The university is a campus university so does not have pharmacies on site, the closest pharmacies are:
  • Hirsch Apotheke, Glockenstraße 1, 95447 Bayreuth
  • easyApotheke Bayreuth-Süd, Leuschnerstraße 53, 95447 Bayreuth

Please have any files you wish to present on your portable device (or USB) and come to your panel room 15 minutes before the session, to upload the files and check that everything is in order.

Notice! You cannot present from your own computer as the hybrid equipment is set to work only with the room’s main computer.

A Zoom session will be running (for your panel) on the room’s computer, so when you wish to show your files you will need to use the Zoom share-screen function, so that both those in the room and the delegates online will be able to see your files and you.

Please remember that the audience is both in the room and in Zoom.

There will be a student volunteer team member present to assist - all will be well. 

Please arrive 15 mins early for your panel to meet the conference volunteer who will start the panel’s Zoom on the room’s computer and just go over the hybrid aspect.

Presenters will arrive early to upload their presentations to the presentation computer, and remote presenters will want to also do a quick tech check.

Do your best to treat all participants (online as well as f2f) fairly.

Strict time-keeping is crucial to a good congress and is one of your responsibilities as convenor or chair: please ensure that each presenter gets their fair share of the time and do not run over into the breaks; this will only turn your audience against you. 

Sessions are 90 minutes long with up to four papers per session, some fewer.

It is up to the convenors of each panel to decide how much time they want for discussion, how long papers can be (we recommend 15 min presentation +5 min Q&A per delegate, fitting 4 papers and leaving 10 min for general discussion) and if they want papers or PowerPoints pre-circulated.

VAD2024 is host to many different events and meetings besides the panels. 

We have book launches and presenting events during the lunch breaks, see event and launch details in conference programme:

Monday, 30 September

• BayFOR Lunch Talk Session: Funding opportunities and support for international research projects
• Book launch: Lifeworlds in Crisis - Making Refugees in the Chad–Sudan Borderlands (Andrea Behrends)
• Book launch: Africa’s Global Infrastructures - South–South Transformations in Practice (Edited by Jana Hönke, Eric Cezne, Yifan Yang)

Tuesday, 1 October

• Book launch: The Long Shadow of German Colonialism (Henning Melber)
• From idea to text in less than 30 minutes: Focused writing workshop for academics (Joh Sarre and Maike Meurer)
• Book launch: Of Worlds and Artworks - A Relational View on Artistic Practices from Africa and the Diaspora (Editors: Ute Fendler, Marie-Anne Kohl, Gilbert Shang Ndi, Christopher Joseph Odhiambo, Clarissa Vierke)
• Sahel Committee meeting

Wednesday, 2 October

• Book launch: Knowing Unknowing (Volume Editors: Katharina Schramm and Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni)
• Guided Tour 'Colonial Bayreuth' (Darja Wolfmeier, historian), registration at conference office
• VAD members (and interested listeners) meeting
• Vernissage of the Exhibition 'With These Hands'

All registered delegates will gain access to the conference via the conference timetable.

In order to access the online stream and later recordings you need to be registered, paid-up and logged in from the conference website.

Once logged in, the message and login button in the programme will dissapear and the website will be showing that you are now 'logged in'.

Only logged in and paid up delegates will see the Zoom access buttons in the programme. Buttons for online access will be added into the timetable (under the panel description) about a week before the conference.

Make sure you have the latest version of the Zoom app installed on your computer and your camera and mic working.

All panels will be recorded unless the panel convneors and presenting authors decide otherwise.

If you are unable to login or have other questions, you can find a chat window at the lower left corner of the conference website.

Online chat will be open from 29 September until 2 October

For any queries with the above please email vad(at)nomadit.co.uk

Looking very much forward to welcoming you in Bayreuth or online!

VAD2024 conference admins