Conference news update 18 March 2022

18th March 2022

We’re getting closer to our first face-to-face International Conference and Exhibition since 2019, and the excitement is definitely growing. In the coming few weeks we’ll be letting you know about everything that’ll be happening, as well as about the fabulous city of Belfast and all there is to do whilst you’re there! In the meantime, here are some key developments to share with you:

Removal of restrictions on travel to the United Kingdom

The UK government has announced an end to travel restrictions for people entering the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, from 4am on Friday 18th March. This means that it’s no longer necessary to:

  • complete a passenger locator form
  • show proof of vaccination
  • take any pre-departure or post arrival tests

This will apply whether you are vaccinated or not. Please do, however, be aware of any travel requirements imposed by your return country for your return there after the conference, as well as any additional countries you may be passing through on your way to and from Belfast.

IATEFL and the conference venue will, nonetheless, have a range of actions and systems in place during the conference to make the event as COVID-safe as possible. We’ll explain more about these in our next update.

Plenary speaker update

Due to circumstances out of our control one of our plenary speakers, Willy Renandya, will unfortunately not be able to present at our conference in Belfast. As a consequence:

  • Our IATEFL President, Gabriel Diaz Maggioli, has kindly agreed to present in Belfast in Willy’s place, on a connected topic of ‘Reading the world and the word’.
  • Willy has kindly agreed to present his session ‘Do good readers make good writers?’ in a webinar following the conference, for which all conference delegates will receive free registration.

We’d like to express our thanks to both Willy and Gabriel for enabling us to provide this unique addition to the conference and post-conference programme for delegates.

Conference justification letter for your employer

If you’d like to attend the IATEFL International Conference as an excellent way of enhancing your professional development but need to get the go ahead from your employer, we’ve prepared a justification letter to present to your employer in over twenty languages.

More about the conference and to book your place

You can find out more information about the conference, and how to attend, by visit our conference website.