AICAD 2020 Academic Symposium “A Year Refocused” Moved to February 18-20

Good Morning AICAD Members and Friends,

It feels as though each time we refer to 2020 as “unprecedented times,” the year seems to take that as a dare to double down on challenging events.

It’s become clear in the past weeks that there is growing concern around the US elections and that the week of the elections is likely to unfold in ways we’ve never experienced before. We’ve managed to convene the AICAD Symposium for many years around the same time, often on the heels of election day, with great success. Of course, 2020 has taken that as a dare, and as we get closer to November 3rd, the likelihood of the outcome being clear that day seems low.

This year’s specific Symposium topics are particularly relevant, and the schedule we put together for everyone includes wonderful speakers who are very clearly engaged in the discourse of this nation, as we know many of you are as well. For us to expect engaging discussions and workshops between speakers and attendees, all while very important current events are sure to happen just outside our virtual space, is unfair to everyone involved.

With the feedback we’ve received from many of you, and knowing that allowing everyone to shift their focus to the important matters ahead is the right thing to do at this time, we’ve decided to postpone this year’s AICAD Symposium to February 18th-20th, 2021. At that time, we’ll be able to reconvene as a community, having processed much of what has transpired, with the ability to learn from each other’s experiences.

Registration will continue to remain open during this time, and we hope that you will still join us in February. Those registrations already made will move forward to the new date. Please contact Ryan O’Keefe (ryan@aicad.org) with any questions.

With all the best in health and safety,

Deborah Obalil
President & Executive Director