The most prominent and prestigious feature of the International Metropolis Project is its annual fall Conference. To date, ten successful conferences have been mounted in Milan, Copenhagen, Zichron Yaacov (Israel), Washington, Vancouver, Rotterdam, Oslo, Vienna, Geneva and Toronto. The 11th conference will take place in Lisbon in 2006, and the 12th will take place in Melbourne in 2007.

Metropolis conferences have varied in size, but recent events have attracted between 600 and 900 attendees, depending on the locale.  Participants constitute a ‘who’s who’ of leaders and stakeholders with an interest in understanding global migration and its consequences for society.  They include ministers of national and state governments, senior officials from international and supranational organizations, city mayors, leading academic thinkers, government policymakers, researchers and program officers and NGOs engaged in service provision and advocacy. 

International Metropolis Conferences are designed to inform participants and to encourage them to engage each other on issues related to migration, immigration, diversity and integration.  Both the content and the structure of the Conferences support this objective.  The long-term goal is to create a community of stakeholders, to elevate their capacity to understand and to manage migration and its consequences, and to build trust.  To this end, the International Conferences feature expert panels with participants from a range of perspectives and backgrounds speaking on important topics related to scientific study, policy development and action.  Efforts are made, each year, to broaden the Project’s scope by introducing new leading-edge issues, by adding new attendees, and by acquainting participants with the particular features of the host country’s migration dynamics.  

Alongside the expert panels, numerous autonomously-organized workshops as well as board and committee meetings involving stakeholder groups take place within the purview of the Conference.  These special sessions bring together anywhere from ten to forty experts and novices – policy officials, researchers, program officers and NGOs – who wish to explore particular topics in depth or to plan future activities.  The workshops are comparative in nature and have proved to be an invaluable venue for international organizations and research teams to discuss their plans and to exchange information on research and practice in a stimulating intellectual environment.  Most recent International Conferences have included between 60 and 90 such workshops.

There are no formal restrictions on who may host a Metropolis conference.  Preference is given, however, to bidders with a demonstrated interest in Metropolis and in the issues that occupy the Project.   This reflects the fact that the International Conference is the premier event by which Metropolis projects influence and advances its international objectives.  Bids are evaluated from this perspective.  It is not enough to merely demonstrate the financial wherewithal to host a conference.  Bids must also advance the interests of both the Project and the prospective hosts in relevant fields of endeavour.  Former hosts have successfully used the Conference to draw attention to critical, strategic issues and to advance both research and policy thinking on these issues. 

Special consideration will be given to bids from organizations with an affiliation or relationship with the International Metropolis Project as this is considered evidence of demonstrated involvement in the field.

Typically, bids to host an International Metropolis Conference proceed through four stages: (i) an initial expression of interest; (ii) a conference proposal; (iii) progress reports; and (iv) final approval of conference plans.  At each stage, the International Metropolis Steering Committee (ISC) is involved in the decision.  Details regarding each step are described below along with the criteria that the ISC uses in arriving at a decision, while an appendix to this document contains a condensed timeline: 

(i) expression of interest

Expressions of interest to host a Metropolis International Conference may be submitted, in writing, to the International Metropolis Secretariat up to five (5) years in advance of the planned event.   All expressions of interest will be acknowledged and tabled for discussion at the first available Steering Committee meeting.  If the Committee approves, applicants will be invited to submit a conference proposal.  In coming to its decision regarding expressions of interest, the ISC will be guided by the following considerations:

·          evidence of a serious commitment based on long-standing interest in the field or prior involvement with the Metropolis Project or its extensive complement of partners;

·          indications of committed leadership and institutional support;

·          indication of potential partners and preliminary discussions regarding the conference;

·          indication of possible financial sponsors;

·          expression of willingness to partner with Metropolis, both before and after the conference for which the bid is placed;

·          the success of previous events organized by the bidder’s organization or a partnership of organizations of which the bidder organization was a member.

None of these elements is essential on its own.  Instead, they will be considered in total.  Applicants with an approved expression of interest will be notified at least two and a half (2.5) years in advance of the planned event and will be asked to submit a conference proposal.  A maximum of three (3) applicants will be invited to submit conference proposals for any one year.  

(ii) conference proposals

Applicants whose expressions of interest are approved by the International Steering Committee will be expected to attend a Metropolis International Conference and to present their conference proposal to the Committee at the meeting immediately following the International Conference two (2) years in advance of the planned event. 

The decision to provisionally approve a conference proposal will be taken by the International Steering Committee at this meeting.  Only one proposal will receive provisional approval for a particular year.  Provisional approval constitutes agreement in principle by the Steering Committee that the applicant’s bid to host a Metropolis International Conference has been accepted subject to satisfactory completion of arrangements.  The Steering Committee will base its provisional approval of conference proposals on the following considerations:

·          continued evidence of leadership, commitment, institutional support and planning;

·          a sound partnership plan and evidence of support from partners (variously, governments, academic or research institutes, international or intergovernmental organizations, major think tanks in the migration field, foundations, and service agencies);

·          the general thematic focus of the conference and the level of interest it is likely to provoke;

·          the proposed financial plans;

·          the proposed conference and hotel facilities;

·          promotional plans, including possible tie-ins to other major events; and

·          prior experience in hosting or organizing major events.

(iii) progress reports

Once provisional approval has been granted, bidders are expected to participate in Metropolis International Steering Committee meetings and to provide progress reports at the Committee’s biannual meetings.  (This also gives prospective hosts an ‘inside look’ at the development and evaluation of other conferences.)  Dates, concrete themes, proposed plenary sessions, study tours, and a program of social activities must be presented at the spring meeting of the Steering Committee one and a half (1.5) years preceding the date of the planned event.  Applicants must also provide venue and other logistical details.  Evidence of specific and continued progress is necessary to secure final approval of conference plans.

(iv) final approval of conference plans

Final approval by the Steering Committee of the conference plans occurs at the fall meeting of the Steering Committee, one (1) year immediately preceding the planned event.  The Steering Committee will seek assurances that the financial plan is viable, that the necessary organizational capacity exists and that preparations for the conference plans are developing at an acceptable pace.  Prior to this meeting, the applicant will work with the Secretariat and members of the Steering Committee to plan the plenary sessions and panelists, and a final program  must be presented at the fall meeting of the Steering Committee one (1) year in advance of the planned event.

A Conference announcement with dates, venue, the theme, and an initial call for workshop proposals must be available at the International Conference immediately preceding the planned event. 

It is expected that regular contact between the applicant, the secretariat and members of the Steering Committee at biannual Committee meetings and International Conferences will produce a relationship of trust and mutual support, facilitating the final approval of the conference plans.

The program that is developed for the International Metropolis Conference blends the particular interests of the Conference host with those of the Project’s broader constituency as reflected in the International Steering Committee.  The Project’s interests are represented in discussions with the Conference Host by the International Secretariat.   Specifically, the Secretariat is empowered to work with the Conference host to develop a provisional Conference program consisting of mutually-agreed themes and speakers.  This provisional program is then tabled and discussed by the International Steering Committee at its fall meeting one (1) year in advance of the planned event.  The International Steering Committee is an invaluable source of expertise regarding subject matter, presenters and past successes.  

Throughout the planning stage, including discussions about the Conference program and speakers, the Secretariat works closely with the host offering support, expertise and access to the Project’s extended network of partners and stakeholders (as well as representing the Project’s interests).   This support carries through into subsequent organizational tasks associated with contacting and issuing invitations to speakers.  The work is conducted through regular international teleconferences and email.  

The Secretariat also works in partnership with the Conference host in promoting and organizing the autonomous workshops and meetings that are a signal feature of International Metropolis Conferences.  The Ottawa arm of the Secretariat has considerable experience in working with Conference hosts to prepare the workshop logistics, to screen workshop applications to ensure that workshops conform to Metropolis criteria.  These criteria include involving both policy and research participants, as well as at least one non-governmental organization and evidence of international engagement and comparisons. 

In terms of planning and logistics, Conference hosts are asked to assume financial responsibility for the following items, which are described in more detail in the appendices to this document:

·          sufficient and appropriate meeting space for a large international conference of between 600 and 900 delegates, which includes facilities to house up to eight (8) plenary sessions and 60 to 90 concurrent workshops;

·          travel and hotel costs and honoraria associated with recruiting high-quality speakers for the Conference panels;

·          travel and hotel costs for the two Project Co-chairs and for four members of the International Secretariat (two from Ottawa and two from Amsterdam);  

·          coffee, juice and pastry for Conference participants at the start of each Conference day and at two scheduled coffee breaks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon;

·          a light lunch for Conference participants to be served at the Conference site each Conference day;

·          one gala evening involving a banquet, entertainment, and transportation to the banquet site;

·          facility rental or transportation for the study tour program, if applicable;

·          the development of promotional materials such as a Conference announcement or website;

·          production of a final printed program for the Conference, which is to be included in delegates’ kits;

·          meeting facilities along with lunch and coffee for the members of the International Steering Committee which convenes immediately following the Conference for a day and a half (approximately forty members). 

Typically, the expense of mounting an International Metropolis Conference has been met through a combination of Conference fees (progressively structured to encourage attendance by students and NGOs) and grants from domestic sponsors.  The Conference fee entitles registrants to Conference registration, Conference meals and the gala evening.  Registrants are also typically offered special Conference rates for accommodation at various classes of hotels.

All costs associated with Conference facilities for the main panels, for workshops and for displays of books and related material are solely the responsibility of the Conference hosts.  Hosts are also responsible for translation facilities (where required), for production and distribution of Conference related programs and brochures, for domestic promotion, and for organizing and collecting Conference presentations and preparing them for posting on the International Metropolis website.   Logistical support for all these endeavours is available from the International Secretariat.  The Conference host is also strongly encouraged to develop a Conference website that provides potential registrants with additional information and includes an online registration tool.  A link to this website will be posted on the International Metropolis Project website.

The International Metropolis Project will undertake to promote the Conference through extensive and repeated contact with members of its network, through advertising on the Metropolis Project website, through personal contact with prospective workshop leaders and through direct intervention by members of the Metropolis Steering International Committee with their domestic constituencies.  (Statistical details of attendance at previous conferences are available to prospective hosts.)   In addition, the Metropolis Project has regular mail-outs and can insert a Conference announcement or brochure if these are provided to the International Secretariat with due notice.

Detailed financial and organizational plans and records are available for past Metropolis Conferences (see appendices).  As well, prospective hosts are encouraged to hold face-to-face meetings with previous Conference organizers.   These arrangements can be facilitated by the Secretariat.

Over and above the specific responsibilities detailed above, it is expected that hosts, the International Steering Committee, and the Secretariat will be guided in their strategic decisions and actions by an overriding desire to produce a successful and productive Conference that advances learning and practice in the area of migration and related societal transformations and that advances the long-term interests of the International Metropolis Project.