As you are aware, the Federation of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (FNM 2020) meeting and its satellites had to be postponed when health concerns and governmental restrictions made holding it impossible.
The Local Organising Committee is pleased to announce they have succeeded in setting new dates for the FNM 2020 meeting; April 14-17, 2021. This will mean that the enormous amount of planning will still benefit the Neurogastroenterology community. The meeting will continue to be referred to as “FNM 2020”. Adelaide, South Australia will remain as the destination, with the Adelaide Convention Centre as the meeting venue. We are very pleased that our down-payments for the conference centre have been transferred, in full, to the new dates. Registrations which have already been received will remain valid for the rescheduled meeting. The program of FNM2020 will remain substantially unchanged, but speakers will be invited to update their presentations. Over the next 12 months we intend to develop an online version of the meeting, which will provide an exceptional conference experience for anyone who cannot travel to Adelaide due to International border restrictions imposed due to COVID-19.
We need your help to make FNM2020 go ahead in April 2021. As with any conference, we have paid in advance substantial expenses (eg: professional organisers, publicity, insurance and venue hire). Under the terms and conditions, registrants are legally entitled to cancel attendance and request reimbursement of their conference fees, minus the administration/handling fee. However, if too many refunds are made, we will be unable to pay our remaining bills and the conference will have to be cancelled. That would be a disappointing outcome for everyone.
What we propose is that, for those who can attend, the conference will go ahead as planned. Authors who were invited to give oral presentations will remain in the program (at this stage on the same day and time as originally scheduled). We will be in touch with speakers in the coming months, and we will also announce another round of late-breaking abstracts. Poster presenters will be invited to update their abstracts.
For those who cannot travel to Adelaide, an online version of the meeting will be made available. We will request invited speakers to provide a recording of their updated presentation. Recorded talks will be available after the meeting on a dedicated website, enabling each registrant to access all presentations. We aim to also have posters included too.
We are very excited for this chance to make FNM2020 go ahead next year. We continue to believe that our program will make this one of the most interesting, multidisciplinary meetings in the field. Ultimately, the decision about the fate of FNM2020 rests with you and your colleagues in Neurogastroenterology. We would really appreciate your support, which you can show by remaining registered for FNM 2020. By default, your registration will be carried over to the rescheduled meeting.
The ENS and Visceral Pain Satellite meetings will be held on Sunday 18 April 2021, at the National Wine Centre in Adelaide. More information regarding the Postgraduate Course, Satellite Meetings and Women’s Networking Event will be circulated as soon as available.
Registrations will open for new attendees, later in the year.
The FNM 2020 Local Organising Committee would like to express our sincere thanks to our participants, presenters, sponsors and exhibitors for your understanding, support and flexibility in difficult times.
Yours truly,
