Submit a Session Proposal
The World Council of Optometry (WCO) invites you to participate in the 3rd World Congress of Optometry educational program by submitting course proposals for consideration. The submission window for lectures and workshops will be open from January 2 through January 31 at 4 PM CST. Up to three (3) Lecture or Workshop proposals (to include any Rapid Fire proposal) can be submitted. Please note that the limit of 3 proposals includes those in which you are co-author; additional submissions after the first three will NOT be considered. However, in addition to the 3 courses, you may also submit up to 3 cases for the Grand Rounds sessions. Academy 2019 Orlando and the 3rd World Congress of Optometry will take place October 23-27, 2019 in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center.
Courses should present information to enhance optometric patient care management. Presentations should not actively promote or advertise products or corporate interests. Competitive topics, course submissions will receive selection preference.
Presenters at the 3rd World Congress are expected to register and fully participate in the many events and activities of the annual meeting. We hope you will attend both the Academy Session and WCO Session October 23-27, 2019. This allows the education and camaraderie to extend beyond the lecture hall and permeate the joint meeting. We thank you for your commitment to honor the “Spirit of the Academy” with your participation this year.
The submission window for papers and posters for the Scientific Program is now open through May 31 at 4 PM CST and can be accessed through the American Academy of Optometry website. Click here and go to “submit now” to access the submission portal.
The submission portal will close for lectures and workshops on January 31st at 4 PM CST.
The submission portal for abstracts for posters and the scientific program will open on May 1st and close May 31st at 4 PM CST.
Important Notices and Guidelines
Rapid Fire (RF) Workshops (WK) Grand Rounds (GR) Lectures
Workshops (WK)
-Workshop proposals should clearly indicate that all attendees will be provided with hands-on experiences in techniques and procedures.
-Workshops may be scheduled for one, two, or three hours. Preference would be for 2-hour workshops.
-Workshop size is restricted to a maximum of 24 attendees
-You must indicate whether workshop participants will have to sit as subjects for other attendees or whether you will provide paid subjects.
-Instructors will be personally responsible for providing the necessary subjects, specimens, instrumentation, supplies, and other equipment to conduct their workshop. The exception is slit lamps which will be obtained by the Lectures and Workshops program committee. Slit lamp based workshops must use the slit lamps provided by the Lectures and Workshops Committee and are prohibited from arranging use of other slit lamps.
-WCO will not be responsible for paying any subjects if required for your workshop
-The WCO must be notified of any additional equipment requiring power that will be utilized during your workshop.
-Workshops are intended to be educational in nature only. Therefore, industry vendors are prohibited from being present during the course of workshops. Further, marketing or sales of goods or materials are prohibited during workshops.
-Audio-visual equipment will be provided, as requested by the workshop presenter Audio-visual equipment MUST be requested.There is no standard set for workshops.
-The instructor is responsible for setting up equipment and materials 25 minutes before the workshop, unless your workshop is back to back with another workshop.
-The WCO will assign a Committee member to assist workshop presenters with preparations for the program.
-The same abstract submitted to WCO cannot be submitted to the Academy (AAO).
The submission window for papers and posters for the Scientific Program is now open through May 31 at 4 PM CST and can be accessed through the American Academy of Optometry website. Click here and go to “submit now” to access the submission portal.
The submission portal will close for lectures and workshops on January 31st at 4 PM CST.
Moderated Q&A Session
For some sessions, attendees will be able to submit questions through the app that the presenter can review and answer either during or after the presentation. Questions and answers approved by the instructor are available for all attendees to view on the Academy.19 app.
3rd World Congress Handouts for Academy.19 App
If your submission is accepted you are required to submit your final electronic handout by October 1, 2019. Please provide your handouts in PDF format, 1 slide per page, maximum 100 slides (you may submit the PowerPoint and we can convert it to PDF format for you). If the October 1 deadline is missed and you would like us to share your handouts, we will be able to upload your material to our website after the annual meeting.
Other Information: