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Special Message: Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

As of March 12, 2020, 10:00 a.m. Eastern

It is with a heavy heart that I write to tell you that we have made the difficult decision to postpone ConCALL-4, originally scheduled for the weekend of April 17-19, 2020, due to state, national and institutional policies enacted to prevent the spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) both in the United States and here at Indiana University.

During the last week we have continued monitoring the situation, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. We remained optimistic that the event might be able to continue as the situation seemed good in the US (and especially in Indiana) and Central Asia. However, we also understand that this is in part due to the safety precautions being taken to prevent the spread of the disease through methods such as limiting travel and personal interactions at large events. Yesterday, Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie issued a statement that while no known cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Bloomington or on IU’s campus, the decision had been made to temporarily suspend classroom teaching until April 6 as a preventative measure to keep the IU community safe, since the best ways to prevent the spread of viral illness is to limit contact with others. Additionally, he asked all organizers of upcoming large events to consider canceling or rescheduling their events for a time after the risks have considerably diminished. Further, just yesterday, we learnt that President Donald Trump has suspended travel from Europe to the US for one month starting Friday in order to restrict the spread of the virus.

We here at CeLCAR are genuinely disappointed, as this is an event that we sincerely look forward to every other year. Furthermore, we are incredibly sympathetic to those who have already made their travel plans for the trip. Please know that we will be willing to offer any documentation that you might need in order to cancel or reschedule previously purchased airline tickets, extend VISAs, etc. Additionally, we will immediately begin the process of issuing full refunds to those who have already paid their conference registration fees.

However, we do want to make it clear that ConCALL-4 is NOT cancelled. It is merely postponed. We are not able to say at this moment when exactly the conference will be hosted, but we are hoping that the spread of the virus will be contained in the near future and that we might be able to reschedule for some time in early Fall. Please watch your inbox for emails in the coming months with information about the logistics of this rescheduling, including possible surveys asking for your input on preferred dates and/or dates that should be avoided, especially those that might conflict with other major academic conferences.

We hope you and your loved ones are all able to stay safe and healthy, and we look forward to hopefully seeing everyone very soon!

Thank you for your patience and understanding,
Oner Ozcelik, Director
4th Conference of Central Asian Language and Linguistics (ConCALL-4)


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