The co-directors of the Vancouver Institute of Philosophy for Children,

Dr. Susan Gardner and Dr. Barbara Weber, along with NAACI co-hosts Dr. Wendy Turgeon and Dr. Eugenio Echeverria, are pleased to invite you to the

2012 NAACI CONFERENCE

to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

on June 29, 30, July 1, 2012.

Conference Details:

The conference will be held at the Granville Island Hotel.  This is a charming boutique hotel located on Vancouver’s famous Granville Island, nestled on the banks of False Creek overlooking the waterfront and beautiful downtown Vancouver. For more details on the hotel and surrounding area, visit www.granvilleislandhotel.com.

The room rates are $169 for a single ($193.07 with tax) and $179 for a double ($204.49 with tax). For a room upgrade, add $30.00. Participants can stay longer or come earlier (5 days on either side) at the same rate. Note that, since this is a boutique hotel, rooms differ, and while all rooms are lovely, some have more striking views. When the time comes for the computer to allocate rooms, those who book first will get the best rooms. So be prompt. Booking is now open. Only 20 rooms have been booked. While we can increase the number of rooms if reservations are made early, this may not be possible as the conference date draws nearer. As well, the above room rate will be honoured only until May 22, 2012. Thereafter, if rooms are available, the rate will be no less than $275, and possibly more.

To book, cut and paste the link below.  Put in the check in and check out dates and hit check availability (ignore the slots that ask for promotional codes, etc.).

https://www.myfidelio.net/webui/AvailabilitySearch.aspx?chain=IQ&property=USGIH&allotmentcode=120622NAAC

You may book via telephone by calling 1-800-663-1840 or 604-683-7373 24/day.  Please indicate that you are with the NAACI Block.

Susan Gardner (a native of Vancouver) has already booked a room at the hotel for the duration of the conference, and so will be at the hotel on June 28th to greet you (unless with a group touring the city), and/or to help you throughout your stay.  The best way to get to the hotel from the airport is by taxi.

Parking:

*   Hotel Guests parking:   $12 plus tax = $16.26. When you check in, indicate that you require parking.  You will receive an orange pass.  You are to park in the 24 hour reserved spots which have blue signs that indicate reserved 24 hours.  Guests are Not Allowed to park where they are red signs that say 24 hours. These red spots are not hotel spots and guests who park there will be towed.

*   Local Meeting Attendees parking: $12 plus tax = $16.26. Come to the front desk to purchase a day pass for parking.  Day passes are yellow (at least this year) and allow all day parking in any 3 hr parking spots (indicated with a green sign) or any paid parking spots.  These are located beside the hotel and around the island.  On Canada Day, come early!

The conference fee is $225 (Canadian), which will cover the cost of the meeting room, and also includes daily lunch, and morning and afternoon snacks for the duration of the 3-day conference. It would be much appreciated if conference fees be sent as early as possible, so the conference room can be secured and lunch menus can be planned. Please send Canadian funds made payable to Dr. Susan T. Gardner, to 6320 Mara Crescent, Richmond, BC, Canada, V7C 2P9. Dr. Wendy Turgeon NAACI co-host and treasurer will oversee all financial transactions.

Excursions and dinners will also be planned.  Participants are asked to e-mail Dr. Susan Gardner at [email protected] if they would like to join in the following:

1.Thursday (arrival)—for those who can be here by 2:00 p.m., a tour of Vancouver can be arranged if there are sufficient numbers, to include or followed by supper.

2.Friday (dinner)—at one of the island restaurants

3.Saturday (dinner)—at a restaurant a short water taxi across the inlet.

4.Sunday (dinner cruise).  Sunday, July 1, is Canada Day. We will try to finish conference presentations no later than 3:15 p.m., so participants can wander around Canada Day festivities on Granville Island. If enough people are interested, a dinner cruise can be arranged so that we can boat to a position to see the Canada Day fireworks.

PAPERS

Abstracts are to be submitted no later than February 1, 2012.  Applicants will be notified and the final paper is due by May 1st, 2012.  All abstracts (and later the paper) are to be sent to

[email protected],  [email protected],  [email protected].

Letters of invitation will be sent to authors once quality and general fit has been established.

Suggested topic:

RESPECT (for self, for others, for animals, for cultures or cultural practices, for the environment, etc). What precisely do we mean (or ought we to mean) by respect, how ought we to adjudicate between conflicting demands of respect, (e.g., respect for self and respect for others, or respect for others who have conflicting demands, or respect for humans versus respect for the environment, etc.), and what obstacles stand in the way of respect.

The above is a suggestion, so authors ought to feel free to write on their own topic of interest.

Types of presentations

The following are suggestions for a variety of presentations.

1.Multiple author paper: three (or more authors) to prepare a paper for presentation for ½ - ¾  hour – followed by ¾ - 1 hour community of inquiry.

2.Tag team: paper authored primarily by one person for presentation (20 minutes), followed by a respondent who helps to articulate the questions that follow from the presented paper (10 minutes), followed by ½ hour community of inquiry.

3.Single paper: presentation 15 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of questions and discussion.

It is hoped that the first two types of presentation will nurture communities of inquiry in the preparation of papers thus echoing what this association is all about.

Contributing to several “Multiple Author papers” or “Tag Teams” is perfectly acceptable.