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Your programme submission can take on any one of the following session formats. Please select your chosen format in the programme submission system, and keep this format in mind when writing your session description.

1. Presentation Bonanza: Each presenter is allowed a slide show of 15 images, each shown for 25 seconds. This forces presenters to keep it short and to the point and it allows the audience to absorb a greater range of information. There will be six participants per session and these session formats will be held after lunch, in one hour slots. Conversation will take place in the tea break that follows the session.

2. Workshop: A ‘how-to’ presentation with a learning outcome that takes participants through the mechanics and processes of a particular solution/community, etc. For example, a workshop on CC+ for business would start with a how to presentation for 50 percent of the time, followed by a group discussion on particular business cases, followed by a presentation of the key opportunities and challenges. Please specify whether you would like to fill a 90 or 60 minute session slot, in your submission description.

3. Panel Discussion: Presentation by panelists (maximum four panelists) on a particular question or reference work (article, paper etc.) followed by a discussion around a set of three to five questions or statements about the work.

4. Poster Session: Traditionally, poster sessions are one-dimensional paper presentations where someone illustrates a particular product, research question, service etc. and explains it to passers-by. The iSummit poster sessions in the conversation break areas and are different in that they invite people to showcase video (using a screen and video projector), applications (using a laptop computer on a table) and traditional posters (not smaller than A2 in size). The poster sessions will take place during the conversation breaks, which are 30 minutes each, and participants using this session format will be required to prepare for only one of these conversation breaks (refer to programme structure for the conversation break times).

5. Sprint: A session in which participants collaborate in the generation of a pre-defined output. For example: A sprint to develop a set of the most instructive resources for video producers to learn about their fair use/dealing rights when making a video/film. This will entail the production of a resource during the session that can be made available to interested parties afterwards.

6. Video: Audiovisual material that relates to the Commons or to any aspect of free/independent cultural production around the world and the discussion thereof, preferably with the film maker.

7. Speedgeeking: All the presenters are arranged in a large circle along the edge of the room. The audience is divided into groups of six to seven members per presenter. One person acts as the facilitator. The facilitator rings a bell to start proceedings. Once proceedings start, the audience splits up into their groups and each group goes to one of the presenters. Presenters have five minutes to give their presentation and answer questions. At the end of the five minutes, the facilitator rings a bell. At this point, each group moves over to the presenter to their right and the timer starts once again. The session ends when every group has attended all the presentations.

8. Podium: Keynotes and research paper presentations.

9. Meeting: Gatherings in rooms allocated to spontaneous gatherings for focused discussion during the event.

10. Contest: A competition with a defined goal that will further the Commons, and a chance to win a prize.

11. Other: If you would like to propose a process that runs over a number of sessions, the iSummit team will assist in the development and running of this process.

Please contact James Cairns, the iSummit programme coordinator at james ‘at’ icommons ‘dot’ org, to suggest a new format.

Pictures: A panel discussion at the iSummit ‘07, by creativecommoners on flickr.com, CC BY 2.0, Larry Lessig giving his keynote presentation, by vlidi on flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0 and the Open Education track report back, by creativecommoners on flickr.com, CC BY 2.0