Volunteering at World Microbe Forum
The World Microbe Forum Staff Volunteer Form is now open for submissions. Volunteers are needed in three key areas: the Information Booth, Community Corner and the Lounge & Learn. All three spaces will be open around the clock for the duration of the conference beginning on Sunday, 20 June through Thursday 24 June. This will provide attendees across the globe access to the platform during times that are convenient to their location. Your assistance is greatly appreciated and will be necessary in providing attendees with the support needed in a virtual environment.
Please find descriptions of the spaces below:
- Information Booth: The virtual information booth will service attendees the same way the Information booth has during the in-person conferences. ASM and FEMS staff will be available virtually to answer any questions from attendees. You will be provided with the tools to communicate with attendees, such as, text chat and 1:1 video chat. The booth will also be equipped with various resources for attendees to view. Tutorials, “how to” videos, and downloadable documents will be available to attendees.
- Community Corner: The Community Corner is one of the lounges intended to offer an informal and collaborative space for attendees to interact. Functions in the Community Corner are a maximum of 45 minutes long and will be scheduled at the top of every hour throughout the conference. The capacity is up to 40 attendees. Volunteers will be tasked with troubleshooting any technical issues and providing support to the function speakers.
- Lounge & Learn: Similar to the Lounge & Learn space at ASM Microbe, the virtual Lounge & Learn at World Microbe Forum will provide an informal space for more instructional functions. Same as the Community Corner, Lounge & Learn functions are a maximum of 45 minutes long and will be scheduled at the top of every hour throughout the conference. The capacity is up to 250 attendees. Volunteers will be tasked with troubleshooting any technical issues and providing support to the function speakers.
Submissions are due Tuesday, 11 May 2021. Prior to signing up, please confirm dates and hours with your supervisor. Once your form is submitted, you may edit your task selection(s) until this date by accessing the Volunteer Service Center. You may make changes to your tasks up until the 11 May deadline. Please find attached instructions on how to navigate the Volunteer Service center. We will confirm all assignments by 25 May. Volunteer Training sessions will be scheduled for Wednesday, June 9, 2021. There will be 2 sessions: 9AM – 10AM EST and 3PM – 4PM EST. Sessions will be recorded.
If you have any questions, please email logistics@asmusa.org.
World Microbe Forum Staff Volunteer Service Center Instructions
All but one of the FEMS journals are now fully open access (OA), with one journal, FEMS Microbiology Letters remaining a subscription journal with free-to-publish and OA options. Open access is key to supporting the FEMS mission of disseminating high quality research as widely as possible: when high quality, peer reviewed sound science is open access, anyone, anywhere in the world with an internet connection, can read it.
