26th ANNUAL MEETING OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR PAEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Invitation to 6th International Symposium on Pneumococci & PneumococcalDiseases, ISPPD-6, 8 -12 June 2008, Reykjavik, Iceland

GENERAL INFORMATION

CONGRESS VENUE

“Messe Center Graz" Betriebsgesellschaft m.b.H. & Co KG,
Messeturm, Messeplatz 1
A-8010 Graz, Austria
Tel.: +43 / 316 / 8088 - 0
Fax: +43 / 316 / 8088 – 250
www.messecentergraz.at
www.stadhallegraz.at

REGISTRATION / HOSPITALITY / MEMBERSHIP DESKS

These desks will be open as follows:

Tuesday, May 13	14:00 – 20:00
Wednesday, May 14	07:30 – 20:00
Thursday, May 15	07:00 - 18:30
Friday, May 16	07:00 – 17:30
Saturday, May 17	08:30 - 11:00

EXHIBITION OPENING HOURS

The exhibition will be open as follows:

Wednesday, May 14	09:30 – 20:00
Thursday, May 15	09:30 – 17:30
Friday, May 16	09:30 – 17:30

PERSONAL ENVELOPE AND MEETING BAG

Upon registration, you will receive a personal envelope containing a name badge and invitations to social events. You will also receive a congress bag containing the Final Program and other Meeting materials. Please wear your name badge to all sessions and social events.

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM AND ABSTRACTS

The Scientific program and abstracts of the congress can be viewed on the official website at: http://www.kenes.com/espid2008/program/sessionList.asp

ESPID SPECIAL SYMPOSIUM ON FUNGAL INFECTIONS

Saturday, May 17th, 09:00 - 11:00
Congress participants are invited to the ESPID Special Symposium on Fungal Infections, to be held on Saturday, May 17th, in Hall B. The title of the ESPID Special Symposium is “Invasive fungal infections: A continuing problem in paediatrics”.

OPENING CEREMONY & WELCOME BUFFET RECEPTION

Sponsored by Wyeth
Wednesday, May 14th, 18:20 – 20:00
The Opening Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, May 14th, at 18:20 in Hall A and will include local flavoured entertainment, which will be followed by a Welcome Buffet Reception (included in the registration fee). The Welcome Buffet Reception will take place at the Exhibition Area.

ESPID MEMBERS AND INVITED FACULTY DINNER (By invitation only)

Thursday, May 15th, 20:30 – 23:00
The ESPID Members and Invited Faculty Dinner will take place on Thursday, May 15th, from 20:30 at the Alta Universitat. All ESPID Members and invited faculty are invited to join us for a memorable evening of international cuisine. Members who have not yet confirmed their attendance are requested to exchange the voucher in their personal envelope for a formal invitation. Tickets for ESPID Members’ spouses can be purchased from the Registration Desk for EUR 120.

FAREWELL EVENT

Friday, May 16th, 20:30 – 23:00
The Farewell Event will take place at the MesseCenter, Stadhalle. Come and join us for an evening of music and dance. An opportunity to say goodbye to old friends and colleagues as well as new acquaintances. Pre-registration is necessary to reserve a ticket. A reservation fee of EUR 15 per person is required in order to attend this event. Reservations must be made by 12:00 on May 15th in order to confirm your participation in this event. Additional tickets can be purchased from the Registration Desk for EUR 120 per person.

MEET THE PROFESSOR SESSIONS

Meet the Professor Sessions will be held on Thursday, May 15th and Friday, May 16th, from 07:30 – 08:30. Participation is included in the registration fee, however, pre-registration is necessary. Please contact the Registration Desk for an entry pass. Participation is limited to 100 participants and will be on a “first come, first served” basis. Only participants holding an entry pass will be able to participate in the session. For further information regarding the Meet the Professor Sessions, please refer to the Scientific Program, http://www.kenes.com/espid2008/program/sessionList.asp .

RESEARCH LUNCHES (For ESPID Members only)

The Research Lunches will be held on Thursday, May 15 and Friday, May 16th (The lunch is included in the registration fee for ESPID Members). Pre-registration is necessary. Please contact the ESPID Membership Desk for an entry pass. Participation is limited to 45 participants and will be on a “first come, first served” basis. Only participants holding an entry pass will be able to participate in the session. For further information regarding the Research Lunches, please refer to the Scientific Programme, http://www.kenes.com/espid2008/program/sessionList.asp .

WALTER MARGET EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOP (Participants already selected)

Saturday, May 17th, 09:00 – 17:00
The Walter Marget Educational Workshop will take place on Saturday, May 17th, 09:00 – 17:00 in Hall E. Participants to the workshop have already been selected and informed.

AIRPORT INFORMATION

The Thalerhof International Airport is located about 18 km to the south of Graz, and is the quickest way to reach the town. The airport has a single, small terminal, which handles all domestic and international flights. Austrian Airlines, Tyrolean Air, Lufthansa and Ryanair are the main carriers which operate direct flights into Graz. The terminal has all the usual facilities which a traveller might need. ATMs and a currency exchange office can be found in the Arrivals area as well as a restaurant, newsstand, gift shop and duty-free shopping. An airport information desk is located in the main entry area of the terminal (+43 0316 2902). Online information can be found at: www.flughafen-graz.at.
Transport between the airport and Graz is limited. You may make use of the following services:

Taxi: The most convenient way to travel to the city. You will find taxis outside the Arrivals area of the terminal and are reasonably priced, at around EUR 20 into the city. Taxi drivers in Graz expect a 10% tip. World Wide Service (+43 316 71 1098; http://www.graz-taxi.at/Kunden.htm) offers advance booking for taxi and car hire services.
White minivan service: The cost is cheap and the company coordinates its departures with arriving flights.
Train: The train station can be found 300m from the terminal. From 05:00 – 23:00 there is an hourly train into the city center.
Public Busses: These are not very convenient; however bus 631 will take you to the station in the city center, and also to Hotel Weitzer (running 6 times a day between 05:10 – 19:00).

Please note that you may also make use of the Airport Shuttle Bus as a complimentary service from the airport to the center of town. Please tell the shuttle driver that you are a participant of the ESPID Congress.

TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION

Once you are in Central Graz, the following modes of transport may be of use to you:

Streetcar: The most effective way of getting around in Graz. Most of the Streetcars intersect at the Jakominiplatz on the Mur River’s eastern bank and at the Griesplatz on the river’s western bank. Registered participants will receive a complimentary pass to the Streetcar for the duration of the meeting.
Bus: Busses are better used for getting to places outside of Graz. You can contact the Graz City Tourism office for schedules and fares on +43 0136 80750.
Taxi: Taxis can be hailed on the street, or found in the city’s clearly marked taxi stands. The largest taxi stand is situated in front of the Central Station.

For the public transport schedule, please visit our website at: http://www.kenes.com/espid2008/transportation.asp

AUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT (FOR ORAL PRESENTERS)

If using a Power Point, or any other computer presentation, you need to bring it on a floppy disk (3.5 "/1.44 MB), on a CD, or on a “disk on key” (no ZIP disk), using the USB port. Please visit the Speakers’ Ready Room at least 30 minutes prior to the start of your session, or during the coffee and lunch breaks to load your presentation onto the meeting’s computer.

Participants presenting with a Macintosh presentation are requested to use their own laptop, making sure the laptop has a VGA socket for sending images to the projector (external feed). Please check the presentation in the session hall where your presentation is taking place, at least 30 minutes prior to the start of your session or during the coffee and lunch breaks, to make sure your presentation is in working order.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Posters will be presented during the duration of the Congress.
Poster presenters should refer to the list of poster presentations in the Final Program for their board numbers.
Posters should be mounted on Wednesday, May 14th from 08:00, and taken down by Friday, May 16th, 18:30. The Organising Committee will not be responsible for posters that are not removed by the end of the sessions on May 16th.
Poster presenters are requested to be present at their designated poster board(s) during coffee and lunch breaks, as well as the allocated poster viewing time for informal discussions.

POSTER WALK PRESENTATIONS

Certain posters were selected to be orally presented, in a poster walk session. All are invited to the Poster Area at the above times to hear the short presentations and to ask questions. Parallel Poster Walk Presentations will take place on Friday, May 16th, 11:00 – 12:30. They are referred to as Poster Presentation Sessions in the programme. There will be a total of 10 parallel poster walks, each guided by a chairperson. Each presenter has been allocated 5 minutes to speak about their poster. Presenters should be at their poster boards 15 minutes before the start of the poster walk session and remain there until they have concluded their presentation.

CLOTHING AND CLIMATE

Clothing is informal for all occasions.
The average temperature in Graz in May ranges between 18 - 22˙C

Meeting Secretariat

Kenes International / ESPID 2008
1-3, Rue de Chantepoulet, PO Box 1726
CH-1211 Geneva 1, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 908 0488
Fax: +41 22 732 2850
E-mail: espid@kenes.com