May 19, 2020 | Susan Boxer Kappel, MA, ATR-BC, LCAT, CGP, Conference Chair
During these challenging times of Coronavirus, we understand the apprehension about making plans to attend a conference which may require air travel and a hotel stay—and is still five months away. Given the feedback we are receiving from our members, we are developing plans to ensure that everyone will have an opportunity to participate in the AATA 2020 Conference in some shape or form, be it in person or virtually.
While AATA continues to monitor updates on the Covid-19 pandemic and develops our contingency plans, we are still planning an in-person conference to be held in Washington, DC, October 29 to November 1, 2020. The safety and well-being of our members, attendees, and volunteers is of the upmost importance to us. If we are able to go forward with our in-person conference, we will record educational sessions presented at the conference and make the material available virtually for those who are not able to attend in-person. (The virtual events will also be available to in-person attendees who want access to even more content and continuing education.) In the event that we have to cancel our in-person conference, we will offer educational sessions online by recording presenters remotely. The bottom line is that either way, there will be virtual educational content for all registered attendees.
Due to the unprecedented nature of this year’s conference, we have also revised the conference refund policy. In the event that AATA has to cancel the in-person conference in DC and go completely virtual, you will have the option to apply your fees paid toward a series of virtual conferences or receive a refund. We hope this change will make you feel more comfortable about making this commitment. To provide everyone with a little more time to register during early bird, we are extending the deadline to July 8th at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. So whenever you are ready, we invite you to register for the conference during early bird for the lowest rates.
If you are planning to attend the in-person conference in Washington, DC this fall, be sure to note our brand new schedule featuring the conference start on a Thursday. And to help balance your personal and professional lives, we are offering flexible registration packages and a more family-friendly atmosphere.
More Announcements
News from the Washington, DC Local Arrangements Committee: Win a free 2020 Conference registration, hotel stay or other great DC prizes you can use during the 2020 Conference! Check out our 2020 AATA Conference Raffle Fundraiser and enter today.
Art Therapy Film Festival: Calling all filmmakers, you are invited to submit a short film for this annual festival that will be held at the conference in Washington, DC. Download the submission form here.
We look forward to sharing additional program highlights in upcoming communications about #AATA2020!