Title ACL 2004 Newsletter No.3 - 8 June 2004 Text ACL 2004 NEWSLETTER NO. 3 (June 8, 2004) ACL 2004 will be held at the new Barcelona Forum Convention Centre. The ACL meeting will be part of the programme of the Forum of Cultures that will take place in Barcelona from April to September 2004. ::Main Dates Tutorials: July 21, 2004 Main Conference: July 22-24, 2004 Post-conference Workshops: July 25-26, 2004 ::Contents This newsletter includes: 1.Registration 2.Presentations and Schedule 3.ACL'04 Student Volunteer Programme 4.Workshops 5.Accommodation 6.Accompanying persons 7.Tourist information 8.Visa information 9.Social events 10.Conferences and Workshops nearby More details can be found at the website of the ACL2004 Conference :: Registration The registraton form is available at the website of the conference. Note that early registration deadline will be June, 20. :: Important note on security The venue for the conference will be within the large congress and exhibition centre of the Forum of Cultures, entry to which will be restricted to conference attendees and registered visitors to the other activities in the centre. For security reasons, attendees will not be allowed to enter the Forum area with luggage larger than 50x40x20 cm. For that reason it is essential for congress participants to leave their luggage in the hotel before accessing to Forum. Detailed information on registration and the issue of security passes is available on the conference website. :: How to get to the Forum site top :: Presentations and schedule There will be 88 presentations in the Main Session, 34 in the Demo and Interactive Poster Session and 12 in the Student Research Workshop. The list of accepted papers is now available on the website. The Invited Speakers at ACL'04 will be Anne Cutler, of the Max Plank Institute, and Jack Mostow, of Carnegie Mellon University. The general schedule for presentations are also on the website. The final programme will be available soon. top :: ACL'04 Student Volunteer Programme ACL'04 is looking for student volunteers to work at the conference in exchange for free main conference registration. The Student Volunteer Programme is open to full-time students only. Student assistants will give the equivalent of one full conference day of work over the period of the conference. Work will encompass such things as assisting at the registration desk, stuffing delegate packs, manning the roving microphones during the question periods, etc. Wishes about attendance to specific conference events will be taken into account, when possible. Volunteers are needed from July 20th through July 26th. In your email application (there is no form), please include the dates you expect to be in Barcelona, whether you are presenting a paper or poster, what year of your program you are in, and whether you are able to obtain any travel support from other sources. Eligible volunteers will be assigned on a first-come-first-served basis, with up to one half being from Spain, if possible. If you are willing to serve as student assistant, please email this application to lalonso@lingua.fil.ub.es by Wednesday, 30 June 2004. top ::Workshops The workshop "Tackling the challenges of terascale human language problems" has been cancelled. top :: Accommodation The local organizing committee of the ACL, through TILESA OPC S.L., will assist conference participants in reserving accommodation at the rates offered by TILESA. ACL-2004 takes place during high season for the travel industry. If reservations are made through TILESA, lodging is guaranteed. But as is well known, room availability and pricing fluctuate a good deal nowadays and so TILESA cannot guarantee the lowest room rates for any specific dates. On the conference website you can find information on Hotels and Student Residences, a map showing the location of the hotels and the reservation form top :: Accompanying persons ACL meeting is held in a conference building located within the Forum of Cultures precinct. Accompanying persons will be able to access the Forum precinct if they purchase the general public tickets. One-day and multiple-day tickets are available. Accompanying persons desiring to enter the conference site should send the local organisers the information that the Forum officials require for security reasons to all people participating in any conference, namely: full name, full address, gender, date of birth, place of birth, country of birth, nationality, Identity Card/Passport Number. This information should be send to montserrat.camprubi@upf.edu. top :: Tourist information Useful information for enjoying your stay in Barcelona can be found in the following websites: Tourism in Barcelona - general information: http://www.bcn.es - city map, public transportation: http://www.bcn.es/guia/welcomec.htm - cultural events: music, theatre, opera, exhibitions http://www.barcelona2004.org/eng/que_ofrece/forum_ciudad.htm - airport: http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?pagename=Estandar%2FPage%2FAeropuerto&MO=0&SMO=-1&SiteName=BCN&c=Page&cid=1045569607459?=EN_GB Tourism in Catalonia: http://www.gencat.net/turistex_nou/home_ang.htm Tourism in Spain: http://www.spain.info/TourSpain/Home?Language=en Weather forecast: http://www.bcn.es/temps/english/ top :: Visa information Citizens of following countries, with an ordinary passport, valid for a minimum of 3 months, who wish to stay in Spain for tourist or business purposes for up to 90 days DO NOT need a visa: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Nicaragua, Norway, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, San Marino, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Switzerland, Uruguay, USA, Vatican City, Venezuela, Hong Kong, Macao and countries of the European Union. Citizens from other countries must apply for a visa to enter Spain. Application requirements Applicants must fill in the visa application form in the corresponding Embassy or Consulate (which is given freely). The following information is required: A) IN ALL CASES 1. The application form filled and signed. 2. A photograph (passport size). 3. Passport, valid for a minimum of 90 days after the ending date of the visa. 4. Documentation corresponding to the socio-economical, personal or familiar characteristics of the applicant, which guarantees that he will return to his country of origin. 5. Documentation which proves the reason of the journey and the conditions of the stay. 6. Adequate maintenance means during the stay in Spain. 7. Accommodation disposal. 8. Medical coverage for the medical expenses in the stay and repatriation. B) Any ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION that the Consulate considers appropriate depending on the aim of the stay. This information can be found in the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs top :: Social events Opening reception The reception will take place in the conference building?the Barcelona International Convention Center (CCIB) inside the Forum 2004 premises?on July 21 at 7:00pm, just after the afternoon tutorials. You will not be able to reach the CCIB unless you obtain the Forum security pass beforehand, a procedure which, as indicated above (see section on Registration), may take a few minutes. So allow yourself some time to complete the Forum security procedure before the reception; or simply register earlier during the day and enjoy the ACL tutorials or the Forum events. After the reception you will also be able to wander all over the Forum area and enjoy the events scheduled for that evening. Banquet The banquet will take place on July 23, the second day of the main conference in the medieval ?Sal? de Contractacions? (Trading Hall) of the ?Llotja? (the Exchange). The stylized Trading Hall was built in 1392 and is one of the most important ensembles of civil Gothic architecture around the Mediterranean. From the 14th century and until recently, most significant commercial institutions have carried out their activities in the Exchange. In the 18th century a Neo-classical building was built around the medieval Exchange and the Trading Hall is carefully preserved inside. The ?Llotja? is today the corporate headquarters of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. top :: Conferences and Workshops nearby :: CATALOG '04: 8th Workshop on the Semantics and Pragmatics of Dialogue Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona July 19-21, 2004 Endorsed by ACL's SIGdial and SIGSEM :: XX Congreso de la SEPLN Universitat de Barcelona July 21, 2004 Organizado por la Sociedad Espa?ola para el Procesamiento del Lenguaje Natural