Thank you for generously agreeing to be the session chair and moderator of your IAG 2021 session.

The session chairs are responsible for moderating the virtual sessions. Please install Zoom in advance. Your responsibilities are similar to that of an in-person session, with the major difference of monitoring questions proposed by attendees under the Zoom Q&A window and reading the questions to the presenters during the Q&A section. When running the online session, you will be supported by a session host.

Before the Session

1. Check the Scientific Programme for  information about the session you will be chairing.

2. The IAG 2021 Secretariat will send you a set of documents with the abstracts of the presenters by email. Read the abstract in your session as this will give you the required understanding and allow you to ask relevant questions. 

3. The contact details of all presenters in your session will be made available to you prior to the conference. Communicate, at least via  email, with all presenters outlining how you will moderate the meeting,. Remind them of their roles and ask for discussion questions. Inform presenters to participate in the Q&A section with other authors, chairs and audiences in the session. In addition, if presenter is unable to participant in the Q&A section due to time difference, it should be indicated prior to the start of session.

At the Session

1. Join the Zoom meeting for your session at least 20 minutes in advance and include “Session Chair” in your screen name. 

2. The session host will set you as co-host so that you can control the session.

3. Turn on your camera to engage the attendees during the session.

4. Once the presentation video starts, you can mute yourself so that the attendees can focus on the presentation.

Chairing the Session

1. Make sure all presenters are present.

2. Introduce yourself, the panellists and the session.

3. Introduce each presentation with the title, the presenter, and the presenter’s affiliations before the video.

4. If you find that a presenter was unable to attend, please report it to the SOC after the session.

5. Remind the attendees that they can ask questions during each presentation by writing in the Zoom Q&A window at any time, and these questions will be answered by the presenters either over audio or using type text at the end of the presentation.

6. Questions and discussion should be scheduled until all cases have been presented.

7. Monitor the questions under the Zoom Q&A window and read the questions to the presenters during the Q&A section.

8. Moderate the Q&A well, namely make sure questions and answers are short and sharp, and ensure the discussions remains professional. Ask attendees who ask a question to introduce themselves (name and affiliation).

9. If there are no questions from the audience, you can ask a few questions about the talk yourself.

10. At the end of the session, conclude by summarizing key insights across the abstract of your session, thank everyone for their participation and recommend the audience and presenters to use the “Discussion boards” of the session for any further discussions, which are an integral part of the online programme on the website.It will remain open for all participants to post messages until the assembly is concluded. 

After the Session

1. Remove “Session Chair” from your screen name to avoid any confusions in other sessions you will be attending.

2. Report to SOC for any no-shows.

Rehearsal of online sessions 

In order to ensure the successful running of this online conference, all assigned sessions chair and co-chair are required to join a rehearsal of online sessions.You will be notified ahead of time by email of the available rehearsal date, time slot and the links to join. Please note that the rehearsal appointments in the “Personal Centre” are only available for oral presenters.

Ahead of the rehearsal please arrange to have:

- Please make sure to install Zoom on your PC. (Zoom: https://zoom.us/)
- Please ensure that the device and place for the testing are consistent with the live Streaming. 
- An external, microphone connected to your computer. Alternatively, you can use the earbuds or similar in-ear style headphones with an inline microphone. The internal microphone of your laptop/computer is not recommended.
- A computer with a functional webcam (the laptop internal webcam will work).
- Stable internet connection. We recommend using wired internet if possible. If you use WiFi please make sure that you sit near the WiFi router. 4G cellular internet should not be.
Please note that the rehearsal can take up to half an hour although are usually finished in less time. 

If you have any questions on the Guidelines for Chairs please contact us at: info@iag2021.com