This document describes the plan for the virtual conference sessions for AKBC 2021.

Information for Attendees

The main portal for the conference will be hosted at http://akbc.ws/2021/virtual, accessible only to registered attendees during the conference. We will be relying primarily on Gather.town to host the event, including all invited talks, poster sessions, interactive sessions, and social hangouts. Some workshops may be hosted on Zoom.

Gather.town

Gather.town is a video chat platoform that aims to recreate the physical space and interactions of a real conference. By creating your virtual avatar that can move around in a virtual space, the platform allows for interactions that are based on location in space.

For AKBC, we will have rooms for each of the sessions, and attending the sessions would just require you to move to the appropriate room (just like in the real world!). We will also have lots of public and private spaces for you to chat with other attendees.

Important: If you are new to Gather.town, you might want to skim the basics of how to move and explore.

Zoom

We will only be using Zoom for the workshops. Zoom is a video conferencing software, with apps available for desktops, phones, tablets, and even an in-browser client. If you are already using Zoom, you should be able to join meetings without any other authentication.

If you are joining an interactive session, please be mindful that, unless you mute yourself or switch off your camera, everyone else can see and hear you. Please be courteous.

Primary Conference Sessions + Invited Talks (Live)

We will have a live video stream, containing the opening and closing remarks, invited talks, and the streaming of the lightning talks. The stream will be available on the Gather.town.
Attendees will be able to ask/vote on questions for the speakers (using in-built Zoom webinar functionality or embedded on website).

Instructions for Invited Speakers: All the invited speakers will be presenting live. If you are an invited speaker, you will receive an invite by email. Please join a little before your scheduled time.

Papers

Each paper will have a dedicated page, containing the following:

• Pre-recorded video and slides (uploaded a few days before the conference)
• Information about the session.
• Links to PDF, reviews, etc.

Questions/comments regarding individual papers can be posted directly on their OpenReview discussion area. Audience may also attend the poster session to ask questions during the dedicated live session.

Recorded Lightning Talks

Each paper accepted to AKBC will have a short talk on the work. This video, along with slides, will be available on the website before the conference, but will also be streamed live during the corresponding lightning talks session (in case you missed it).

Live Sessions

Authors of each paper will participate in a live poster session on Gather.town, where the authors will be available for discussions.

Workshops

Workshops will have the flexibility to be held as the organizers like. This might mean use of Gather.town, or a Zoom meeting, or a combination of the two. This information will be available on the workshops page on the virtual hub.