Proposals are now invited to present at the 3rd Oceania Seating Symposium being held 9  - 11 November 2021 at the Energy Event Centre, Rotorua New Zealand.

Submission deadline: 9 April 2021

Whanaungatanga - connecting people and communities

We belong to one of the most beautiful countries in the world, RICH in culture. Through the years tikanga Maori has diluted and adapted to survive as the world changes around it...however some core principles have stood the test of time. Whanaungatanga is one of these principles representing Aotearoa's age old culture of connecting and caring.

It means different things to different people, but in essence it paints a picture of belonging to something bigger than oneself. A “bigger picture” full of people that live, love and band together through both their celebrations and tribulations, to form that beautiful thing we call our whanau.

In our mahi we are privileged to be welcomed into many whanau in their time of need, supporting where we can in what can be very dark times. Delving deeper into this beautiful kaupapa can only serve to strengthen our ability to awhi our whanau through these shadows, and strengthen our bonds as a community...so let’s have that korero.

As we emerge from a challenging time globally, this korero is more important than ever. The Oceania Seating Symposium in Aotearoa (New Zealand), November 2021, is an opportunity for the wheeled mobility and seating community to reconnect and share our experiences, strengthening not only our ties to each other but our skillset to grow and be impactful in our position within our communities.

“Whiria te tangata”
- Weave the people together

Instructional Course Sessions / Workshops

Instructional sessions will be 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, or 2 hours in length including Q&A. 

Paper Sessions

Paper presentations will be 12 minutes plus 3 minutes for Q & A. These sessions provide an opportunity for succinct presentations of innovative approaches, research findings or case studies. 

Poster Sessions

Poster sessions will be held during the morning and afternoon meal breaks.  You will need to be by your poster at your appointed session time.  The abstract submission should describe the research or clinical application.

Abstracts need to be formatted as per below: 

Title:
A presentation title, not exceeding 15 words which captures the sessions intent

Author/presenter information:
(name, email, country, organisation /affiliation),150 words or less about each author. Please provide relevant biographical information on up to five authors/presenters

Keywords:
Between 5-10 to help classify sessions

Learning objectives:
What are the goals of your presentation? Outline 3 objectives.

Presentation description:
A 300 word summary of the presentation

Content references:
A minimum of 3 references less than 10 years old, if possible, are required for each session to ensure content is based on the best available evidence related to the topic

Presenter biography:
Up to 150 words about each presenter

Presentation type:
Paper, poster or instructional sessions/workshops. Instructional sessions and workshops need to indicate length of session preferred – 30, 60 or 90mins.  Proposals for longer sessions (2hrs) must include rationale for the extended time required

Presentation level:
Beginner – Intermediate or Intermediate – Advanced

Conflict of Interest Disclosure:
This includes (but is not limited to) those who work for a manufacturer or supplier, or receive an honorarium or travel expenses from manufacturers or suppliers to speak at the conference

Note: Images, tables, diagrams, graphs cannot be accepted in the abstract submission process

All abstracts must be submitted in English

Must be submitted by 9 April 2021

Tips for writing your abstract

A great abstract is one that is easy to follow and engaging. It should clearly identify the challenge or opportunity explored in the paper and summarise key insights that the paper will contribute to and any interesting questions or ideas that others might explore in the future.

Learning Objectives

Learning objectives must be written as measurable behavioural objectives that specify what you expect the participant to learn. The hierarchy of behavioural learning is knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

Examples:
Upon completion of the session, participants will be able to:
Describe 3 wheelchair adjustments that improve efficiency for self-propelling
Compare and contrast 3 different assessment tools for power wheelchair users
Identify 4 outcome measures of a postural management programme that are relevant for children with cerebral palsy GMFCS Level V.

Authors will be notified whether their abstract has been accepted or declined from 3 May 2021.

(Note: only the primary author per abstract will be contacted. It is their responsibility to notify all contributors)

All presenters will be required to pay the relevant registration fee to attend OSS and to meet their own travel and/or accommodation costs.

You will be submitting your abstract via an online form, please ensure you have all the information before you start this process.

We are using oxford abstracts for this online process

A receipt of abstract submitted will be emailed once your abstract has been submitted.

Abstracts open                                       Now

Early bird registration opens                  March 2021

Abstracts submission close                    9 April 2021

Notifications of outcome of abstracts      From 5 May 2021

Late registration from                              24 September 2021

OSS                                                        9 – 11 November 2021