Policy on media activities organised by third parties in connection with the European Human Genetics Conference 2016, Barcelona, Spain, May 21-24, 2016

This policy applies to all activities organised for the news media during or in connection with the ESHG Conference 2016 by third parties. It aims to ensure that information distributed to journalists concerning the meeting and research presented at it is accurate and is issued at the correct times, complying with any embargoes that may be in place.

All third parties are requested to adhere to this policy.

Third party press events

Companies or other organisations wishing to organise a news conference or any other event for the media during the conference should send a request in writing to the conference media consultant, Mary Rice, at mary.rice(at)riceconseil.eu. Any media event must pertain to presentations being made to the conference in oral or poster sessions, i.e. not at satellite symposia. Reference to the conference can only be made in connection with scientific presentations planned in the official programme of the meeting. This policy applies to any media event, regardless of whether it is held on or off site. The programme and invitations for any third party media event should be submitted to and agreed by the conference media consultant before any invitations are sent out.

Third party press releases related to scientific presentations at the conference must be labelled clearly with the abstract number, time and date of presentation to the conference, and submitted to, and agreed by the conference media consultant at least seven days before they are issued to the media. Third party press releases relating to any abstracts that are being held back for publication online on the day of presentation to the conference (i.e. those that form part of the official media programme) must be embargoed to match the embargo on the conference official press releases (further details below).

Studies that form part of the official ESHG media programme cannot be included by third parties in their own press conferences before the official ESHG press conference.

Third party press materials are not permitted inside the official Press Room. A table or stand close to the official Press Room will be made available for companies to display a limited amount of such materials. No posters or banners from companies are permitted on or around the table or stand.

Third party media materials must not contain the logo of ESHG, and must not be presented in any way that could be construed as suggesting endorsement by the conference of the ESHG.

ESHG and its media consultant do not make media lists available to third party organisations.

Embargo policy

Third parties are requested to abide by the conference embargo policy. Should an embargo be broken, both the third party and the journalist concerned will be held responsible. 

The majority of the conference abstracts will go on line on the ESHG web site approximately two weeks before the conference (May 7, 2016) at:  www.eshg.org/abstracts2016.0.html and can be reported from that time onwards. Any abstracts that will form part of the media programme will not be published until the day they are to be presented to the conference. Embargoes for releases on these abstracts must match those on the conference official press releases. Please check with the media consultant about the embargo times for these releases.

Confidentiality policy 

All abstracts accepted for presentation at the conference are considered to be confidential from the time the abstract is submitted to the conference until public release at the conference. No information regarding abstracts should be issued until the time the abstracts are published online two weeks before the conference or the day of their presentation at the conference – whichever is earlier. If there is any breach of confidentiality, the abstract will no longer be eligible for inclusion in the conference programme.

If you have any questions, contact: Mary Rice, ESHG media consultant, email: mary.rice(at)riceconseil.eu 

The ESHG supports the use of social media around the European Human Genetics Conference to network with your colleagues and friends attending the meeting. Please do however respect the ESHG social media guidelines, including the following:

Dos: 

• Follow ESHG on Twitter (@eshgsociety) and use the #ESHG2016 meeting hashtag to follow the latest updates and join in the conversation about the ESHG 2016.
• Follow ESHG on Facebook at facebook.com/eshg.org.
• You may blog or tweet about content of the talks, unless the speaker explicitly asks you not to share either the entire talk or specific details or slides.
• Communicate in a respectful and considerate way, and show your criticism in a fair,  constructive and professional manner.
• Do remember that people who will read your postings or tweets are not necessarily genetic professionals, but also patients, policymakers, members of the media, and the general public.

Don’ts:

• The use of photography, video, or other type of recording devices in oral sessions (plenary, educational, concurrent sessions and symposia) and poster sessions at the ESHG 2016 is strictly prohibited. Hence posting pictures or videos of these sessions on any social media platform, blogs, or websites, etc., is also strictly prohibited.
• Do not capture or re-distribute data presented at the ESHG 2016 as this may jeopardize the subsequent publication of the data in a scientific journal. Powerpoint presentations must not be photographed under any circumstances. Do respect journal embargo policies and the work of your colleagues!
• Refrain from engaging in personal attacks or showing rude behaviour.
• Offensive and disrespectful behaviour, sales-oriented, self-promoting, or otherwise inappropriate comments will not be tolerated.
• Participants should not post copyrighted or trademarked material or material protected by other intellectual property rights.

 
The views and opinions posted on ESHG’s social media do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of the ESHG, its Board or membership. The ESHG reserves the right to remove comments it deems to be inappropriate.