We have continued to closely monitor through official health and travel advisory channels from reliable global and local partners the situation in Poland and Region 8 countries with respect to the spread of the epidemic and the restrictions imposed on travels and meetings.
Today we took the difficult decision of cancelling the face-to-face Region 8 Committee meeting which was scheduled to take place in Warsaw, March 20-22, 2020. In taking this decision we consulted with and took into account the opinion of the Poland Section Chair and Past Chair.
We are very sorry that we needed to take this decision. Behind the preparation of the meeting there is a lot of work and dedication of many volunteers, not only the R8 OpCom members (in particular the Treasurer, and the Secretary and her team), but also the Poland Section leadership and the many local volunteers who were ready to help with their participation in the various events (from the Chapter Coordination meeting and Poland Section presentation to the various social activities) and, of course, the R8 Subcommittees Chairs and their teams. There are also many IEEE leadership guests, both volunteers and staff, who committed their time and effort to help to improve our Region through knowledge and information sharing about the IEEE current status, hot topics, new programs and initiatives. Thank you all for your hard work.
Now we are working out the options we have in going ahead. Essentially we are considering:
- Postponing the face-to-face meeting to a later date, also in Warsaw. As possible dates we are considering April 25-26, May 2-3, and May 9-10, being the later the preferred option for some of us.
- Substituting the face-to-face meeting for a WebEx meeting, most probably on Saturday March 21. We have also considered the possibility of scheduling the WebEx meeting at a later date.
We will inform you as soon as possible of the final decision, with the hope that you will make every effort to participate in this important meeting.
For those of you, who have already booked your tickets to attend the meeting in March 21-22, please wait to take any further action until we inform you of the final decision. Apparently some airlines have informed about their agreement to change the date of an existing reservation but not to cancel it.
I am really looking forward to meeting you in the near future one way or the other!
Thanks again for your support and understanding.
Respectfully,
Magdalena Salazar Palma, R8 Director
Antonio Luque, R8 Director Elect
Adam Jastrzebski, R8 Treasurer
Ana Madureira, R8 Secretary