Deadline Approach for NGS 2021 Call for Proposals

Deadline Approaching to Submit Lecture Proposals for 

NGS 2021 Family History Conference

Time is running out for speakers to submit lecture proposals for the National Genealogical Society 2021 Family History Conference, Virginia: The Deep Roots of a Nation. The conference will be held in Richmond, Virginia, 19‒22 May 2021. All proposals—including those from organizations interested in sponsoring lectures—must be submitted electronically at https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/call-for-proposals/ by 11:59 p.m. EDT on 15 April 2020.

Seventeenth century, native born Virginian William Byrd II once said, “In the beginning, all America was Virginia.” The first permanent English settlement was established at Jamestown in 1607. Since then immigrants from many countries have made Virginia their home. Some remained for generations while many others moved on to new frontiers to expand, populate, and build a nation. In 1619 the first ship carrying enslaved African Americans arrived in Port Comfort, Virginia. Transcontinental slave trade continued for more than two hundred years. Virginia’s Native American tribes include the Pamunkey, Chickahominy, Upper Mattaponi, Rappahannock, Nansemond, and Monacan. Throughout the centuries, the Virginia General Assembly has been in continuous operation since its first meeting in Jamestown’s church in 1619. Richmond and its surrounding area offer a treasure-trove of resources for family historians.

Conference tracks under consideration include DNA; government records; heritage; immigration, naturalization, and passenger records; land; maps; migrations, trails, and events that affected patterns of settlement; military; organizing methods; repositories; and Virginia and her neighbors. NGS also requests proposals that address the law as it relates to genealogy, methodology, analysis, and problem-solving. NGS encourages proposals that demonstrate methods to help genealogists accurately identify ancestors through reasonably exhaustive research; proper source citations, analysis, and correlation; resolution of conflicts; sound reasoning; and coherent writing.

The NGS 2021 Family History Conference will be the first conference after the merger of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) into the National Genealogical Society. Therefore the conference will dedicate a full day to topics that focus on society management on Tuesday, 18 May 2021. Topics under consideration include best practices, leadership, membership, programs, publications, disaster plans, and record preservation. Suggested formats include lectures, panels, and workshops.

Speakers who wish to submit lecture proposals may submit up to eight proposals electronically by 11:59 p.m. EDT on 15 April 2020.The speaker compensation is described in detail on the website. Please visit the website for details about required speaker information and each submitted proposal.

NGS has a free webinar, Becoming a Better Conference Speaker: Proposals and Preparations, on its YouTube channel. Speakers are encouraged to view the webinar before beginning the proposal process.

NGS members will receive first consideration as speakers. Notifications for acceptance will be issued in August 2020. Syllabus material, due 2 February 2021, is required for each lecture or workshop presentation and will be included in the syllabus distributed to all conference registrants. Speakers are expected to use electronic presentation programs and provide their own digital projector, laptop, and connector to the projector cable. NGS will provide projector support, which consists of a VGA or HDMI cable, cart, and power strip. Internet connections will not be provided in lecture rooms.

Sponsored Lecture Proposals
If your genealogical organization would like to sponsor a lecture, submit proposals to NGS. If your organization would like to sponsor a luncheon, please contact [email protected]. Do not use the sponsored lecture form.