IPSA World Congress: COVID-19 Situation Update

COVID-19 Situation Update - March 6th, 2020
 
Dear colleagues and officers of national associations, 
 
As the situation of the Coronavirus (now labelled COVID-19) develops in the world, the IPSA Executive Committee and Secretariat felt it necessary to keep all its members and national associations informed of the actions being undertaken in the context of the upcoming 2020 IPSA World Congress of Political Science, which will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, 25-29 July 2020.
 
It would be greatly appreciated if you would forward the following message to your members and post it on your association’s website and social media accounts. News link on the IPSA website: https://www.ipsa.org/na/news/covid-19-situation-update.
 
The IPSA Secretariat is closely monitoring the evolution of COVID-19 worldwide and in Portugal, in collaboration with the Portuguese Ministry of Health, through our constant contact with the 2020 Congress Local Organizing Committee in Lisbon. The Secretariat is also conducting daily media watch on cautionary measures undertaken by European authorities.
 
Low risk in Portugal
As of March 5th, Portugal is at a very low risk. The IPSA Secretariat is closely monitoring the situation and we will update the Congress status regularly.
 
For more information, please contact: wc20200@ipsa.org
 
2020 IPSA World Congress
At this time, the IPSA World Congress of Political Science will be held as planned and we do not expect to postpone or cancel the event. However, to accommodate our participants, we are announcing the extending of the Early-bird Registration deadline to April 15th, 2020. IPSA’s standard refund policy will apply to this new deadline.
 
Furthermore, for those participants unable to attend due to official government or university issued travel bans, effective at the time of the Congress, IPSA will take the exceptional step to refund the full registration fee upon presentation of appropriate proof.
 
Please note: membership fees are non-refundable. New and renewed membership will continue to be valid even if registration to the World Congress is cancelled. If you cannot attend the World Congress, please send your cancellation notice as soon as possible, to allow your panel to find a replacement in time.
 
We encourage all participants to consider purchasing trip cancellation insurance when making their travel arrangements.
 
Cordially,
 
Kim Fontaine-Skronski, Ph.D.
Executive Director | Directrice exécutive
kim.fontaine-skronski@ipsa.org