After evaluating the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and carefully considering the likely future scenarios, the International Organizing Committee of the 8WCCA has concluded that a normal, physical gathering at the Congress venue in Bern would be too risky. A further postponement by another year will also cause a serious disruption in the normal World Congress schedule since the last Congress in Rosario, Argentina in2017.

Therefore, the International Organizing Committee decided that the in-door sessions of the Congress will be held as a virtual meeting, but to provide an opportunity to hold a two-day programme of Field Days for strictly pre-registered participants.

The new Congress programme arrangements are as follows:

  • The online in-door Congress will be held from June 21st to 23rd, 2021 in ‘Bern’, Switzerland.
  • The International Organizing Committee is establishing a professional virtual platform to allow for the best possible exchange and interaction of the participants during the 3 days of the Congress. Details about the features and functionalities of the platform will be communicated soon.
  • A two-day programme of Field Days on June 24th and 25th will be organized to allow for a broad and safe participation of all interested participants. The Field Days will take place at the estate “Witzwil” (about 40 minutes away from Bern), providing excellent conditions for showcasing novelties of practical implementation of CA. A social Congress event is foreseen to be held on the evening of 24th June.
  • The 8WCCA in-door programme outline remains the same, including the parallel sessions;
  • Negotiations are ongoing to provide simultaneous translation into key languages of potential participants.
  • Abstracts which have been accepted will be processed as foreseen unless for those authors who wish to withdraw their submissions. For this, all authors have been contacted by email to confirm their intention to either maintain or withdraw their abstracts. Revised Abstracts must be submitted in those cases where revisions have been called for so that the evaluation process can be completed.
  • The International Organizing Committee has extended the deadline for Abstract submission until February 1st, 2021. The instructions for abstract submission can be accessed at: https://8wcca.org/call-for-abstract/. For further questions regarding Abstracts, please contact the 8WCCA Secretariat by email at: abstract@8wcca.org
  • The online registration process is open and the fees for the participation at the 3-day Congress are as follows:
    • All participants, including the full access to all Congress material and features of the virtual platform: 150€ per participant;
    • A discount rate for students (upon receipt of the respective certificate): 100€;
    • To guarantee a smooth handling of all registrations we encourage all participants to register at least 10 days before the event. An additional handling fee of 30€ per registration will apply to registrations after the deadline of June 11th, 2021 because of extra administration costs.
  • Those interested in participating in the Fields Days are strongly advised to visit the website of the Swiss No-Till Association (www.no-till.ch) where the programme and registration will be available and possible as of 1 February 2021.

The International Organizing Committee, together with the International Steering Committee and the Scientific and Technical Committee, would like to express their sincere thanks for your understanding of the necessary changes and for the continuity of your interest to attend 8WCCA.

Updated information will continue to be available at the 8WCCA website.

For further information please contact the organizers at info@8wcca.org