Preparation Guide For Participants!

To open the Atlas Summit, TAS will host an opening reception 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. in the Renaissance Ballroom Foyer. It will feature food stations that should satisfy the not-too-hungry eater (but if you’re very hungry or have a restricted diet, you may want to dine separately). There will be free soft drinks and a cash bar for alcohol. Come meet everyone, get to know the speakers and staff, and get into the swing of things. After the reception, drift up to the Common Room in Penn Quarter to keep the conviviality going.

• Smoked tea salt marinated N.Y. strip steak with porcini demi-glace & au gratin potatoes

• Double breast of chicken with forest mushroom duxelle, with sundried tomato-marsala demi-glace & reggiano polenta

• Oven-roasted salmon with lobster-tarragon sauce & ginger risotto cake

• Roasted vegetable paella (vegan), composed of saffron scented shortgrain rice, piquillo peppers, zucchini, squash, sweet peas, grilled eggplant, oven roasted tomatoes, & grilled asparagus

 

We are sending each participant an online survey link that you can use to let us know whether you are attending the opening reception, the Friday dinner, and/or the closing reception, and to let us know what your entree preference is for the dinner (if you will be there). You can also just email your preferences to the conference director. Either way, let us know your meal preferences by Sunday, June 24.

Closing Reception and Dance Party

The Atlas Summit goes out with a bang. TAS will host a catered reception Sunday, July 1, 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. in the Renaissance Ballroom West. The food stations should satisfy the not-too-hungry eater (but if you’re very hungry or have a restricted diet, you may want dine separately). There will be free soft drinks and a cash bar for alcohol. After the reception, you may hit the dance floor or drift out to the Foyer for conversation with friends old and newfound.

What to Bring

We suggest a “dress casual” clothing style: not stuffy, not sloppy. Be prepared for heat and humidity outside and for cold air-conditioning inside.

For the Friday dinner and for the final reception and dance on Sunday night, or if you plan to attend our Sponsors Dinner Saturday night, you should plan to wear something more dressy (a jacket and tie for men or an evening or cocktail dress for women would suit the occasions fine).

If you want to take notes on the Atlas Summit sessions, a pen or pencil and some loose-leaf notebook paper might serve you well, though your conference binder has a page at least for the outline of each session.

Conference Sessions Format

The standard format at the Atlas Summit is a lecture to a large group. Sessions will start and end at the posted times: arrive before the start to have time to get comfortable. There will be an M.C. at each session to introduce the speaker and moderate the session. Speakers will try to leave time for questions from the audience: we will have microphones placed in the aisles of the lecture halls where participants should line up to ask questions. Keep your questions brief and to-the-point: your views are very welcome, but others may have questions, too. At speakers’ discretion, the format for some sessions may differ. We will be video-recording, too, and this will require some formality in how sessions proceed.

Website and Online Program

The Atlas Summit website is www.atlassociety.org/as. Go there or to http://either-or.sched.org to see the conference schedule, see who else is attending, and create your personalized program. (Social networking via Sched.org replaces our traditional print Participant Directory.) You can download the program onto your mobile device, too. We will post other resources on the Atlas Summit website, including a link to live streaming, and after the conference it will be your source for speakers’ notes and slide shows and for recordings.

 

Participant-Sponsored Sessions

These afternoon and evening sessions are for lectures, meetings, and other participant-run activities. You could give a talk you have prepared, or simply host a discussion of a favorite topic or one of the Summit’s presentations. You might even persuade a faculty member to join in or field questions.

Participant-Session sponsors book one of the rooms we have available for one-hour time slots and provide a description of the session for posting on the Atlas Summit bulletin boards. Write to the conference director if you want to offer one. We try to accommodate all reasonable proposals, but note that only a limited number of rooms are available.

Although the rooms available may be equipped with audiovisual equipment, they also may not. Any audiovisual arrangements are ultimately the responsibility of the participant, as are any special costs for the session. If you will need A/V equipment, check with the conference director to see if your room will automatically come with A/V support.

We will have an initial PSS schedule posted as part of the online schedule by June 25, which you can use to determine your room assignment, if you proposed a PSS in advance.

Seminar Policies

The Atlas Summit exemplifies The Atlas Society’s two-decade tradition of open, rational, benevolent conversation about philosophy, politics, the arts, and the art of living. We encourage you to take every opportunity to engage with the people and ideas we have gathered. We trust and expect that you will do so in a civil, courteous, and even friendly manner, so that you and your fellow participants can have an enjoyable, educational experience.

All participants are responsible for complying with the policies of the Renaissance Hotel and The Atlas Society. Moderators and conference assistants are responsible for the orderly conduct of sessions; we ask that participants comply with their requests and exercise respect for speakers. We also ask that participants always treat others in a civil and courteous manner.

During Seminar sessions, audio and video recording is not permitted, except with permission of TAS. Speakers on the program speak for themselves, and their views are not necessarily those of the Atlas Society.

The Atlas Society reserves the right to limit or deny further participation in the Atlas Summit to anyone who violates these policies. On this and on all other matters that may arise during the Atlas Summit, the decision of the conference director shall be final.

Finally, it is our policy to try to make this conference as excellent an experience as it can be! We hope you will have an enriching and delightful time at the Atlas Summit.


 
 

The Atlas Society

1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 830, Washington, D.C. 20036

Email: ConferenceDirector@atlassociety.org

Telephone: 800-374-1776 or 202-AYN-RAND (202-296-7263) Fax: 202-296-0771

www.atlassociety.org