Format

Topical Science Meetings are built around a core of parallel and joint science workshops of PAGES Working Groups that are particularly relevant to the subject of a respective Topical Science Meeting.

To add further value, impact and visibility, the workshops can be complemented with outreach, public, networking, engagement, and educational components. A Topical Science Meeting will typically involve approximately 100 participants, global and local, and stretch over three or more days.

Schematic example schedule of the structure of a Topical Science Meeting, with a mixture of working group-specific (green) and of joint cross-topical (orange) elements.

Schedule and Elements

Each Topical Science Meeting has an individual design, but will typically run over three days to one week, including:

Parallel workshops, focusing on each Working Group’s science goals (ca. 2 days)
Cross-Working Group breakout sessions or joint workshop(s), including preparation of joint outcomes, such as a position statement
A networking event for interaction between local researchers and the Working Groups (e.g. poster, plenary, discussion or skill development sessions)
Optionally, a day or evening for outreach activities, such as a public symposium, or field trips or excursions

Participants

Based on past experiences, we estimate the size of each Working Group workshop to accommodate 20-40 participants. Moreover, additional participants from the local community and stakeholders should be invited. Therefore, depending on the number of Working Groups involved, a Topical Science Meeting could attract between 60 and 150 attendees in total.