Information for Media in Transition 10 Conference Speakers and Panel Chairs
We look forward to your participation in the Media in Transition conference, which is about a week away! We had overwhelming interest in the conference this year, and have done our best to accommodate as many speakers as possible. This should be a terrific event and we are writing with some important announcements about the conference.
Registration
The registration desk is on the Lower Atrium of Bartos Theater in the Media Lab Building (E-15 – aka the Wiesner Building, LIST Gallery – photo below) at 20 Ames Street, Cambridge, MA. You can enter by way of the building’s rather cavernous street level opening and going down the stairs. The venue is about three blocks from the Kendall-MIT stop on the Red Line (the subway, or in Boston parlance, the ‘T’. You can find an interactive map of MIT and the surrounding area at http://whereis.mit.edu/ Most of you have already registered for the conference and can pick up your name tag and conference information at the registration desk. Volunteers will be working the desk from 8am-5pm on Friday, May 17.
Speakers
The conference online program is available.
Your presentation should not exceed 15 minutes. The panel’s chair has been instructed to keep strict time limits in order to ensure discussion time with the audience and other panel members.
All rooms are equipped with a beam projector and loudspeakers; however, we are unable to provide computers and connectors (the projectors have standard HDMI and VGA cables). Please bring your own gear, or make arrangements to upload your presentation on another panelist’s computer.
Panel Moderators/Chairs
Thank you for your willingness to chair a panel! Your main duties are to facilitate the session by briefly introducing the speakers (name and affiliation) and keeping the panel on the rails time-wise and discussion-wise – not necessarily easy tasks, as there is always a lot to discuss!
You may have to wrangle the crowd to get things started on time. Paper presentations should not exceed 15 minutes each. You should remind speakers of the time limit, and warn them when they are approaching the end of their time (a five minute warning perhaps?). This should allow 20minutes for discussion on most panels. Do your best to make sure that all the panelists share in the discussion. And please make sure that the sessions end promptly at the scheduled time, as we have a very packed schedule.
If there are any difficulties with the AV equipment we have someone on hand who should be able to solve any problems.
A final note: some moderators have been drawn from the panels and will be serving a double role – you know who you are (and again, thanks!).
Food
Coffee and light snacks will be available in Bartos Lower Atrium Friday and Saturday morning. You’re on your own for lunch, and food trucks offer a quick and inexpensive option as does (on Friday) the café in the Stata Center (Building 32) or the Sloan School of Management (Building E62), both a 5-minute walk from the Media Lab Building. There are also other restaurants nearby, including Clover, Legal Seafood, Area Four, Catalyst, Au Bon Pain, Luna Café, and Starbucks inside the Marriott Hotel.
Reception & Party
On Friday, May 17 at 6:30pm there will be a hosted reception in the Lower Atrium, with wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres. On Saturday, May 18, there will be a dance party and hosted dinner reception at the Cambridge Multicultural Art Center at 42 Second Street in Cambridge, which you will not want to miss!! It will feature the world famous DJs Rekha, Ian Condry, and Philip Tan. This venue is about one mile away from MIT, and is located in a mid-19th Century red brick complex of municipal buildings (see image below). Bring your dance shoes — it will be a blast.
Pre-Conference
On Thursday, May 16th we will get things rolling with a student-organized event: Welcome to MIT PLAYTEST in Bartos Lower Atrium. Students, labs, and practitioners in the community will showcase their work from 6:30 to 10. At 7:30, Professors Cornel West and Henry Jenkins will have a panel conversation on the future of technology, democracy, and the civic imagination. The panel will specifically explore Afro-Futurism and visions of the future that include Black, Brown, Queer, and Female voices in new ways.
Wi-Fi Access
You can use the MIT Guest wi fi service as well as Eduroam
Conference Hashtag
The conference hashtag is: #mit10