Dear Fellows, Chairs, Committee Members, Scientific Contributors,

The current situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic dictates that we adjust the manner in which we handle the publication of research material. The main objective is to avoid any impact on authors' publication requirements which often carry a May or June deadline. To that respect, there are two main ways in which we are adjusting procedures for the remainder of 2020 events:

1. Flexibility for submissions and/or presentations

The submission deadlines (and other dates such as notification and camera ready) are rather flexible in order to account for possibly limited author access to the academic/industrial premises where the research work is taking place.

Attendance and/or Remote Presentation
During the conference, authors will be able to present their work via pre-recorded videos and/or conference calls (in case they opt to avoid travel).

Peer-Review Process
The diligent peer-review process will operate normally and the proceedings of the conference will be timely issued in order to not affect any particular scientific need (graduation, research reports, budget reports, and preparing for grant submissions).

Awards and Journals
Selection of awarded papers and invitations for expanded versions for IARIA journals are not affected by the presentation method (remote or in person)

Potential postponement and relocation of events will be decided by the logistics on a case by case basis and depending on government and/or health organization regulations and recommendations.

2. Two phase publishing process for postponed events that were originally scheduled from March to June

Phase 1: (includes: peer review of early submissions, registration and camera ready validation, partial proceedings published, journal invitations sent)

Authors who submit a contribution before the original deadline will receive a notification close to the original date. The registration and camera ready dates will also be close to the original dates. A preliminary version of the proceedings will be published at the original date of the conference both in the conference program and in the digital library. Authors of selected articles will receive invitations to write extended article versions for submission to one of the IARIA journals. People who were banking on those dates to meet publication deadlines will meet those deadlines.

Just to reiterate, in order to accommodate the financial year and approved budgets, the peer-review process, acceptance notifications, and registration of the contributions will be done according to the original deadlines for those who submit in time before the original deadlines. The exact original deadlines are relisted below.

Phase 2: (includes: peer review for additional submissions, registration and camera ready validation, complete proceedings published, journal invitations sent, awarded articles announced)

Additional submissions are made up until the currently posted deadlines. A new review process will take place with a new round of notifications will be sent out. After registration and the camera ready process, the entire proceedings of the conference is rebuilt and posted. Additional invitations will be sent to authors with the opportunity to submit extended conference articles to one of the IARIA Journals. Awarded articles will be selected from the entire proceedings.

For your reference, the original conference dates were as follows:

ComputationWorld 2020
regular tracks: submission: January 15 / notification: February 15/ registration: March 1/ camera ready: March 11
special tracks: submission: March 3/ notification: March 23 / registration: April 2/ camera ready: April 2

InfoSys 2020
regular tracks: submission: February 11 / notification: March 14 / registration: March 28 / camera ready: April 8
special tracks: submission: March 31 / notification: April 19 / registration: April 29 / camera ready: April 29

InfoWare 2020
regular tracks: submission: March 22 / notification: April 22 / registration: May 6 / camera ready: May 17
special tracks: submission: May 4 / notification: May 24 / registration: June 3 / camera ready: June 3

NexTech 2020
regular tracks: submission: April 17 / notification: May 17 / registration: May 31 / camera ready: June 11
special tracks: submission: June 1 / notification: June 21 / registration: July 1 / camera ready: July 1

We wish you health and safety during these tough times.

IARIA Board
IARIA Logistics