The present conference protocol serves to establish key points for organizing the annual conference of the DHd Association. It specifically outlines certain responsibilities assumed by the local organization team (LO) and the hosting institution. Successful applicants for hosting the conference are required to confirm their understanding and adherence to these regulations in writing. (The conference protocol was developed by the board of the DHd Association and is available in its February 2024 version.)
The scientific program of the conference is developed by an international Program Committee (PK) appointed by the professional association based on a Call for Papers and a review process. The role of the Program Committee (PK) is described in detail in a document available on the DHd Association's website: http://dig-hum.de/wissenschaftliches-programmkomitee-der-konferenzen-dhd. The resulting division of responsibilities between the local organization (LO) and the PK must be respected. The LO sends a representative in a permanent position to the PK, who has voting rights. Additionally, it is expected that this representative will express their willingness to take on the role of chair of the Program Committee for the following conference.
The conference program structure typically includes two days for workshops and three days for the main program. The main program generally consists of (usually two) keynote speeches, parallel sessions with scientific presentations, panel discussions, doctoral consortia, and poster presentations, as well as possibly a poster slam. Introducing new formats is possible with the approval of the association's board and the Program Committee.
The hosting institution is responsible for providing the conference rooms and all necessary infrastructure, organizing and ensuring the smooth conduct of the conference, arranging social events, and setting up and maintaining a conference website, as well as handling local public relations.
The event is organized on behalf of the DHd Association and is titled “DHd 20XX, [Event Theme], Annual Conference of the Digital Humanities Association in the German-Speaking World, hosted by [Hosting Institution].” The hosting institution acts as the organizer and may be liable for personal and material damages, as well as in case of event cancellation. The DHd Association must be prominently visible on the homepage, in the program booklet, in the Book of Abstracts, and on flyers, posters, etc., including the association’s name and logo.
The LO must ensure high visibility of the conference in the German-speaking region. When creating the conference website and handling all PR-related activities, continuous coordination with the conference coordinator of the association is requested. The association facilitates the setup of a conference website centrally through the ADHO infrastructure using WordPress.
Conference funding is obtained through registration fees and financial resources provided by the hosting institution or raised through partners and sponsors. The registration fees must be coordinated with the association’s board and should include four categories: regular and discounted DHd members (the latter according to the DHd Association’s reduced membership guidelines, see https://dig-hum.de/anspruchsberechtigung), as well as regular and discounted non-members of the DHd. The fee for non-members must be at least the DHd member fee plus the membership contribution plus 5 euros, considering the relevant membership category. It is also recommended to offer early-bird rates. An advance funding arrangement from the DHd Association can be agreed upon. Selection of partners and sponsors, as well as the presentation of their involvement in the context of the conference, should be done in consultation with the board. It is recommended to offer sponsor packages (Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc.).
The LO is responsible for creating a Book of Abstracts (BoA) in coordination with the association's Data Steward. Additionally, it is expected that all conference abstracts and poster presentations will be published as individual publications together with the Data Steward. The format and location of publication must also be coordinated. In recent years, publishing the BoA, individual abstracts, and poster presentations in PDF format on the online storage service Zenodo has proven effective. For the BoA, it is important to ensure that the contributions are available in an open, standardized format suitable for long-term archiving, such as XML-TEI. In recent years, the use of the DH ConValidators tool has been effective for this purpose. When submitting contributions, authors must provide consent for their abstracts to be published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).
It is expected that a conference management and payment system will be used. In recent years, Conftool has proven effective for this purpose, as it also allows integration with the DH ConValidators, which is therefore expected. The association's board is happy to support the LO in implementing this system.
The LO is expected to develop and implement a concept for supporting early-career researchers (including students). This may include aspects such as the structure of conference fees or scholarship programs, as well as other measures for the optimal integration of early-career researchers into the program and the community. Typical support concepts include offering an early-career conference rate and applying for PhD scholarships from external funders. Regarding scholarships, the LO should contact the scholarship coordinators from the board, who manage part of the scholarship program for super-early-career applicants. Organizing a Meet & Greet for early-career conference participants and scholarship recipients is also encouraged.
In the application to host the conference, the LO must designate a contact person who will work closely with the association's conference coordinator (currently Lisa Dieckmann, University of Cologne: lisa.dieckmann“AT“uni-koeln.de).