Title ACL 2004 Newsletter No.4 - 10 July 2004 Text ACL 2004 NEWSLETTER NO. 4 (July 10, 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.Important: access to the ACL site 3.Instructions for all presenters of papers 4.Birds-of-a-feather sessions 5.Accommodation 6.Accompanying persons 7.Tourist information 8.Visa information 9.Social events 10.Ohters More details can be found at the website of the ACL2004 Conference :: Registration The registraton form is available at the website of the conference. Detailed information on registration and the issue of security passes is available on the conference website. top :: Important: access to the ACL site We outline here important information regarding access to the ACL site. Please print this out and read it carefully before arriving at the conference site. The Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB), where ACL-04 is held, is within the premises of Barcelona?s Forum 2004. :: How to get the Forum site :: Step-by-step access to the ACL'04 site The Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB), where ACL-04 is held, is within the premises of Barcelona?s Forum 2004. Forum 2004 officials have implemented specific security measures that affect access to ACL-04. When going to the Forum site for the first time, please allow some extra time, take your passport or relevant photo ID (the one you used for on-line registration), and follow these steps: - Go to the Forum?s ?Accreditation Centre? (please see map: building shown in red). Find the ACL-04 registration desk, where you will get your ACL-04 badge and your vouchers (proceedings and banquet). You can also register on site here. See below for opening hours. - Still within the ?Accreditation Centre?, proceed to one of the ?accreditation? queues (sorted alphabetically) to get your ?accreditation?, i.e. your Forum 2004 pass. Accompanying persons should obtain their one-day accreditations at the desk specially set up for this purpose. Forum tickets are bought at the entrance to the Forum grounds (next to building on the left). - Head to the CCIB (building on the right). Entrance to the Forum 2004 grounds is through the turnstiles next to it. Two security check points (with control of passes and X-ray inspection of bags) have to be crossed: the first one is at the Forum entrance turnstiles; the second one is at entrance to CCIB. For security reasons, only bags and luggage smaller than 50x40x20cms will be allowed through the entrance check points. - Collect your conference bag at the Conference Bag Pick-up Desk on the ground floor of CCIB, before going up to the main floor. - Go up to main floor. At the ACL-04 Desk you can exchange your proceedings voucher for the corresponding set of ACL-04 proceeding. - All conference rooms are on this floor. :: "Accreditation Centre" opening hours In order to avoid queuing it is strongly recommended that you pick your ?accreditation? (the Forum pass) earlier in the day on July 21 or, if you plan to come on a later date, on the eve of the day your first plan to be at ACL-04. Opening hours are strictly enforced: - July, 20: 9 am to 6 pm - July, 21: 8 am to 7.30 pm - July, 22: 8 am to 6 pm - Other days: 9 am to 6 pm Note that Workshops on July 25-26 start at 8.30 am, so workshop-only attendees should pick up their accreditation the day before (between 9 am and 6 pm). :: Important note on security 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. top :: Instructions for all presenters of papers These instructions apply to main conference sessions, demo & poster presentations, students research workshop, associated conference and workshops. :: General notes In all cases: - tell us, as soon as possible, if your presentation requires free internet access (i.e., having to access databases or to run programs on your home computers): > before the conference: mail montserrat.camprubi@upf.edu > during the conference: contact the ACL desk on the main floor or room 119 - room 119 is available for testing the technical aspects of your presentation - remember to always use your presentation code (available from the web and in room 119) :: Case A (simple case) This applies when your presentation is in PowerPoint, PDF, HTML or Word presentation (or similar). - go to room 119 the day before your presentation, > if you sepak on the 22nd and are not around on the 21st go to room 119 early in the morning of the 22nd (during the opening session and the invited talk) - try your presentation on any of the computers there (they have the same configuration as the desktop computers in conference rooms), > if this does not work, follow Case B instructions - copy your presentation on the ACL pen-drive (available in room 119) and give it the name of the code assigned to it - your presentation is copied from the pen-drive onto the desktop computers in conference rooms by Forum technicians. :: Case B This applies when you need to run programs on your laptop, or require Internet access, or if there is hardware or software incompatibility with the Forum computers (failed instances of Case A): - go to room 119 to try your presentation on the Forum-internal network, - go to the room assigned to your presentation 1/2 hour before the session for your presentation, - connect your laptop in the available projector connection, and try your presentation, while the previous presenters are presenting theirs, - to start your presentation: > in rooms 114, 115, 116, 117 (main session and EMNLP) you can start your presentation from the connection you have been testing (while the next presenters are testing the other projector connection) in the other rooms (workshops), you connect your laptop to the blackbox, once the previous presenters have disconnected their laptop. top :: Birds-of-a-feahter sessions Those interested in organizing Birds-of-a-Feather sessions during this year's ACL should contact David Farwell at farwell@talp.upc.es to arrange for a meeting room and other needs. Space is limited and will be allotted on a first-come-first-served basis. In addition, meeting rooms accommodate at most 70 people and, depending on demand, the length of the sessions may have to be restricted. 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'04 is being 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/ Furthermore, in Barcelona there is a Police Station specifically dealing with any incident suffered by tourists. Its address is Rambla 43 (phone: 93 344 1300). 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. Banquet tickets Please note that the number of tickets available for the banquet is limited due to seat limitations. There are still places, so make sure that you get your ticket soon. top :: Others All registered attendees to ACL'04 will be provided with a free 5-days public transportation ticket. The Local Committee has made the ACL'04 poster available on its website. Anyone interested can download the poster for free.