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The Festival Of Touch
A joint meeting of Research In Touch and IASAT:
How do you feel… how do you want to feel?
July 4, 2023 – July 7, 2023 Europe/France
Registration – Abstracts – Agenda – Venue – Accommodation
The Festival of Touch aims to bring together researchers working in the sense of touch from across the world. It will be a joint meeting of two networks: Research in Touch and IASAT: International Association for the Study of Affective Touch.
The conference will be held between 4-7 July 2023 at Campus Saint-Charles of Aix-Marseille University and will include four days of oral and poster presentations on touch, as well as hands-on demonstrations. This will be an excellent opportunity for researchers interested in touch to come together from across the world to present and share their research. We will have different sessions that focus on topics such as peripheral mechanoreceptors to the central interpretation of touch and include the domains of haptics and affective touch.
Registrations are going very well, but places are limited(!), so please do register as soon as possible for the conference and the Gala Dinner.
If you are planning to travel overland, by rail or bus(!), we want to help you meet up with other researchers on your way. If you would like to share your travel itinerary (departure, route, timetable), we will collate and make suggestions for who you can meet on your journey. Email info@researchintouch.info with the details. In addition to the gala dinner, there will be a number of social events:
- If you are arriving on Monday 3rd July, email info@researchintouch.info if you’d like to join up with others for evening food and drinks.
- There will be a ‘Book Launch’ social (likely on Thursday 6th), for co-authors of the Somatosensory Research Methods book, and friends!.
If there are other social events you would like to have (or to arrange!), please email info@researchintouch.info.
Registration:
Our host institution requires registration via the following process:
- Go to the Registration Website: https://www.azur-colloque.fr/DR12/inscription/preinscription/216
- Enter your details (Pre-Registration)
- Your Pre-Registration will be validated (ASAP)
- You can then proceed to payment
For enquiries and additional information, please contact touch2023@sciencesconf.org
Registration Prices:
180 € Permanent academic (including researchers, lecturers, clinicians, therapists, etc.)
240 € Permanent academic with gala dinner
120 € Student or post-doc (PhDs, Masters, post-docs, other non-permanent staff, etc.)
180 € Student or post-doc with gala dinner
240 € Industry (businesses, private enterprises, etc.)
300 € Industry with gala dinner
0 € Special organiser (category for organizer, requests for financial help – contact us)
60 € Special organizer with gala dinner
Our gala dinner is planned the Thursday 6th July evening, on a rooftop bar-restaurant close to the conference. More details soon!
If you are an early-career researcher and do not have travel funds, please contact us to apply for financial assistance.
Registration Deadlines:
Registration deadline: 09/06/2023
Late registration possible may be possible until 23/06/2023 (you must contact the organisers).
Space is limited. so please register as soon as possible.
The Gala Dinner is limited to 150 attendees, so if you would like to join us, please include this at registration to avoid disappointment.
Abstract Submission:
We are accepting abstracts for open talks (10-15 mins) and posters.
You can choose to submit an abstract to be considered for a talk and/or a poster or for a poster only. Each abstract should be no more than 250 words and provide an overview of your work.
You do not need to upload additional files, but if you want to send us a picture representing “What touch means to you”, please feel free! We hope to use these, anonymously, to illustrate our world of touch during the conference.
To Submit An Abstract:
1) Create An Account on the conference’s abstract submission site. If you’re creating a new account – you’ll need to verify your email address – the verification email may take some time.
2) Login using the username & password you just created.
3) Go to My Space > My Submissions
4) Click [+ Submit An Abstract] and complete the form.
Abstract Submission Deadlines:
Abstract submission for oral communication deadline: 19/05/2023
Abstract submission for posters deadline: 09/06/2023
Agenda:
The provisional conference programme has been released, with a wide range of symposia, plenary talks, posters, open talks and methods sessions, all on your favourite topics of social, affective and discriminative somatosensation.
Download the provisional programme (pdf)
Symposia:
- How skin mechanics shape touch
- Affective touch: more than skin stroking
- Wetness, slip, stick, and texture
- C-fibers – what is their functional role?
- Multisensory and central influences in touch interactions
- Tricking the system: tactile illusions and prosthetic touch
Keynote Speakers:
- Sliman Bensmaia
- Gary Lewin
- Rochelle Ackerley
- Ingvars Birznieks
- India Morrison
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Accomodation
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Objectives for the Festival of Touch:
Scientific:
- We wish to present cutting-edge research in touch and encourage discussion.
- The main theme of the Festival of Touch will be how fundamental touch mechanisms are encoded and interpreted, with a goal of making touch feel better.
- We will link the two joint conferences together by having symposia that span general touch research and affective touch, to increase interactions and discussions amongst researchers.
Social:
- Inclusivity: we will invite touch researchers from all over the world to participate and we encourage all levels to contribute, from students to established researchers.
- Openness: we want to spread the message of touch far and wide and the conference will be open to all people interested in touch, where we will encourage industrial participation.
- Environment: we will encourage travel with lower environmental impact. We will hold some of the presentations via visual conferencing. We will also use less meat in the catering, use biodegradable items, and decrease plastic use.
Sponsors:
