Overview

We are thrilled to announce that ASPA will be including symposia as part of the conference program in 2025. Symposia offer an exciting opportunity to dive deep into important topics in physical activity research, policy, and practice. These sessions will feature a series of presentations that explore a cohesive theme and generate meaningful audience engagement and discussion. Symposium applications will be reviewed alongside standard abstract submissions. If a symposium application is not accepted, individual abstracts will still be considered for oral or poster presentations.

Symposium submission process

Symposium proposals must be submitted through the ASPA abstract submission portal before the general abstract submission closing date. A symposium submission must include the following:

1. A symposium proposal abstract (max 350 words) outlining the session title, cohesive theme/topic, rationale for topic, session structure, and relevance to the scope and vision of ASPA.
2. Three individual abstracts, each submitted separately and linked to this symposium but otherwise following the same submission guidelines as for regular abstract submissions.
3. Chair and presenter details, including affiliations and roles.
4. Presentation order

The symposium abstract must be submitted by the Chair of the proposed session, who may or may not be one of the three included presenters.

Symposium format

Symposia at this year’s conference will follow a ‘traditional’ format, as follows:

Duration: 60 minutes, with 20 minutes allocated to audience Q&A and discussion.

Structure: Three 10-minute presentations aligned to the common symposium theme.

Chair role: The chair will introduce the session and each presenter, provide a concise summary of the main findings, conclusions or takeaways from the session, and facilitate a Q&A session/discussion after the main presentations have concluded. The chair will also be responsible for ensuring the session runs to time.

Review process and selection criteria

All proposals will be reviewed based on the following criteria:

• Alignment with the scope of ASPA
• Importance/innovation/originality of the theme/topic
• Coherence of included presentations in relation to theme/topic.
• Scientific quality of individual abstracts
• Diversity in presenters (institutional, international, career stage etc).*

*Note. Preference will be given to high-quality proposals that demonstrate collaboration between presenters from different countries, organisations/institutions, sectors (research/policy/practice), and/or career stages.

If a symposium proposal is not accepted, individual abstracts will still be reviewed for oral or poster presentations. Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered. Outcomes will be communicated by 31 August. For any questions, please contact us via our support service in your congress dashboard.

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Preparation guidelines

1. Symposium overview abstract (Max 350 words)

The symposium overview abstract should clearly articulate the purpose, structure, and relevance of the proposed session. It must include the following elements:

Symposium title: Include a short and engaging title that effectively captures the symposium theme/topic

Symposium type: ‘Research or academic’ or ‘Policy, practice and advocacy’ (select one)

Theme and rationale: Explain the importance, timeliness, and novelty of the topic, and how it aligns with ASPA’s vision “to advanceknowledge and integration of physical activity into health, education, sport and recreation, urban planning and transport practice and policies across all levels of government and non-government organisations in the Asia-Pacific region in order to benefit the health and wellbeing of all communities in the region.”

Cohesion: Describe how the individual presentations are clearly connected under a unifying theme.

Overview of presenters. Provide a summary of how the Chair and presenters demonstrate diversity in collaboration, with specific reference to countries, organisations/institutions, sectors, and/or career stages represented.

2. Chair and presenter details

Each symposium proposal must include the presentation title and presenting author (name & affiliation) for each of the three included presentations. Full abstracts for these presentations must be submitted separately by each presenting author via the abstract submission portal. When submitting individual abstracts, presenting authors should indicate that the oral is included as part of a symposium proposal, listing the symposium title in the open text field. Individual presentation abstracts must follow the standard abstract guidelines for oral presentations.