Get Ready for Plantae Presents Take 2
Like a Phoenix rising from the flames, the Plantae Presents webinar series was created in response to the shutting down of labs and universities in early 2020.
Our first season ran from April 1 to July 1, during which time we hosted 26 speakers on topics spanning from auxin to terpenes. Each live event had several hundred attendees (with a high of 824) and collectively the recordings have been viewed thousands of times.
We’re preparing to reignite Plantae Presents in September 2020 after the Northern hemisphere summer break, with what we hope are some new and improved formats.
We know we can do better in representing the diverse community of plant scientists. We have developed clear targets along our diversity axes and will publish breakdowns twice a year to hold ourselves accountable. Our axes include diversity of career stage, ethnicity, gender, geography, and topic.
We are convinced that we will improve the quality of Plantae Presents by providing a more pluralistic plant science worldview. We hope this will lead to broader discussions and new inspirations for many.
Along this line we will introduce two new formats to supplement the ‘classic’ 2 x 20 minutes version we launched back in April.
First, we will introduce a short talk + panel discussion format. We envision that these talk-led panel discussions will unearth hidden layers and foster catalytic discussions beyond the specific datasets into more conceptual realms. Here, four speakers will each present a 7-minute short talk around a common topic. We will collect questions during all talks and use those to kick start a Q&A style panel discussion for the remainder of the hour.
We’re going to do this format a little differently, in that we will invite anyone in the community who would like to participate to submit a seven-minute video presentation on one of several topics (more information on this coming soon). A reviewing panel will select four of the submitted videos to share during our live event. Each of the selected speakers will be invited to present their talk (live or pre-recorded) and sit on a panel for a follow-up discussion on the topic. All submitted videos and the panel discussion will be collected into a YouTube playlist with the opportunity for continued discussion, along with a blog post summarizing the key ideas and advances that emerged.
The second new format will tie in more closely with our supporting Society, ASPB. Here, we will host seminars by authors of new research from our Society journals (Plant Physiology, The Plant Cell, and Plant Direct), as well as others drawn from the ASPB community. We also will invite members of the ASPB Legacy Society to speak, to pass on a broad perspective of their research topic to the next generation.
Finally, we will recruit a group of topic moderators to contribute to running Plantae Presents. Moderators will facilitate seminar introduction and the Q&A sessions.
How to get involved – Apply to be a topic moderator
We invite interested plant scientists from across the range of topical areas and geographic regions to apply to become a Plantae Presents moderator. Please complete this google form https://forms.gle/yf46v6iMDY8N1mJCA to express your interest. We will begin reviewing applications Sept. 1, 2020.
More information about how to submit a video and apply to be a contributing panelist coming soon.
Brought to you by the Plantae Presents Steering Committee: Jűrgen Kleine-Vehn, Javier Moreno, Katie Rogers, Benjamin Schwessinger, and Mary Williams.
