In deciding the format for IEEE VIS 2023, as well as wanting to ensure the best possible experience for our attendees, we considered a number of factors.
IEEE VIS was run as a virtual event in 2020 and 2021 and in hybrid mode in 2022 due to the pandemic and travel restrictions. A positive of this was the ability to expand the (virtual) attendees to a wider audience. However, in hybrid mode there was a detrimental effect to the in-person experience. For example, remote presentations typically led to lower levels of engagement among in-person attendees. For VIS 2023, time-zone differences between Melbourne and places where VIS has previously been hosted would severely limit the effectiveness of live remote participation. There has also been a significant (and growing) cost to supporting hybrid streaming of content and virtual participation.
The original proposal to host VIS in Melbourne was put forward in 2019 with the intention of bringing VIS to the Asia-Pacific region for the first time. This will make it possible for many people from our region to attend the conference in-person for the first time and to make VIS a truly global conference. At that time (prior to COVID-19), the conference secured significant financial support from the Victorian State Government. But the funding requires a minimum number of in-person attendees.
Therefore, IEEE VIS is following other major computer science conferences (e.g., ACM UIST, ICAART, IEEE Quantum Week) in returning to an “in-person first” arrangement. While this decision will reduce access to the conference for some of the VIS audience, being held in the Asia-Pacific region will also allow people to attend who were previously unable.
IEEE VIS 2023 will be an “in-person first” event. This means that as much as possible we expect participants to attend and present in person. One caveat is for people in exceptional circumstances. We will still consider allowing a small number of remote presentations, however, this will be by request and considered on a case-by-case basis. We will offer an “Online Content” registration which will allow people who can’t attend in person to access papers (pdfs, supplemental material), posters (pdfs), and pre-recorded presentations, as well as allowing asynchronous discussion between online and in-person attendees. Associated events will be in-person and these events will have the option to provide content (e.g., documents, videos) of online-content attendees.