The organizers of HEAR2009 are looking for powerful, informative, entertaining and eye-opening workshops, to be delivered on the weekend of February 14-15, 2009 (President’s Day weekend) at the Doubletree Hotel Anaheim/Orange County.

We are looking to attract a diverse group of individuals to lead these sessions, and welcome applications from both hearing loss professionals and laypersons.

HEAR2009 is produced by the non-profit Hearing Loss Association of California, an affiliate of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), the nation’s largest organization for people with hearing loss. Our goal is to bring together all those affected by hearing loss — plus friends, family, industry experts, technical specialists and hearing health care providers — to discover what we can all learn from (and about) each other.

We want to enlighten our attendees. And delight, astound, entertain and excite them. We want to know what’s new, what’s changing and what breakthroughs will affect the lives of all those with hearing loss. We are looking for fresh takes, new solutions and new technologies that affect how we live, work and entertain ourselves.

Sessions will be selected based on content quality, suitability, originality, creativity, audience involvement and anticipated interest. Visual materials and other audio-visual aids are strongly encouraged.

1. Hearing
This track focuses on the various medical, economic and psychological aspects of hearing loss, and how individuals can best maximize their potential regardless of their hearing.

2. Entertainment
From our Southern California base, a look at how Hollywood deals with — and often ignores — those with hearing loss. Includes captioning, access to and participation in the arts.

3. Advocacy
What can we do to advance the agenda of hearing loss? For that matter, what is the “agenda”? Includes how to effectively fight for equal access individually and collectively.

4. Research
The cutting-edge science conducted at universities, labs and corporate offices. We hope to give attendees a glimpse at the treatments, products and technologies that may soon emerge.

Sessions will run 75 minutes, with at least 15 minutes reserved for comments and questions. We encourage as much audience involvement and interaction as possible.

We also hope to include a number of highly focused 18-minute presentations (followed by 18 minutes of audience interaction), based on the format of the TED Conference. Two such presentations will fill one 75-minute time slot.

Please answer all the following below, as fully and honestly as you can. When completed, submit your application (in Word or PDF format) to speakers@hear2009.com. If files are larger than 5MB, please e-mail for instructions for FTP upload.

1. Give us your name, address, professional affiliation(s), and all contact information, including email and website, if any.

2. Tell us a little about yourself, and about additional speakers, if any.

3. Propose a name for your session and give us a description (100 words or less) to be included in the Conference’s Exhibit/Program Guide.

4. Provide an outline of your session.

5. For which of the four tracks is your session designed? Is your course level a) beginner, b) intermediate or c) advanced? Traditional format (60 minutes + questions) vs. TED format? (18 minutes + questions)

6. Please tell us what you hope to accomplish and what new information you expect audiences to take away. List three learning objectives.

7. How do you plan to present your material, and what will you do, visually, to keep attendees engaged? Will written materials be provided for attendees?

8. What specific audio-visual equipment will be needed for your session? Be specific, if possible.

9. Bibliography (optional). Please provide a list of research and references on which your presentation is based.

By submitting your proposal, you are agreeing to the all terms as outlined below:

HEAR2009 does not provide a stipend or honorarium for workshop presenters.

Presenters are invited to attend the Exhibit Halls and other workshops on the day of their session; however, meals and special events are not included. Registration to the full convention is strongly encouraged, and will be offered at a discount if your proposal is accepted.

Presenters are responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements, including airfare, ground transportation and hotel.

Presenters must be available to present on either Saturday, February 14 or Sunday, February 15, 2009.

If Presenters require an interpreter to voice their presentation, they must inform HEAR2009 at the time of submission. Please note that CART (real-time captioning) and ASL Interpreters will be provided for attendees at each session.

HEAR2009 will equip each presentation room with the following: LCD Projector and Screen; one lavaliere microphone; Computer Assisted Real-Time Translation (CART). Presenters must provide their own laptops and connector cables. Additional audio-visual requirements must be listed at the time of submission. HEAR2009 may ask presenters to bear the cost of certain requested audio-visual gear.

HEAR2009 reserves the right to suggest modifications to session proposals, adjust session titles and descriptions to better align with our tracks, and reject any proposal that is geared to marketing for a specific product or commercial service.

HEAR2009 has the right to retain and publish edited transcripts of conference sessions in printed form, on our website, or on related websites. Presenters will be afforded the opportunity to revise their transcripts as needed.

Deadline for submission HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO:
Friday, October 10, 2008.

All applicants will be notified of their status no later than
November 6, 2008.

Chosen presenters must provide a copy of their presentation and visual materials (in Word, PowerPoint, PDF, InDesign or other common format) no later than January 1, 2009 to be included in Conference Workbook.

Good luck!