The OpenSimulator Community Conference is seeking speakers, presentations, and research papers for the inaugural annual conference event, scheduled for September 7 – 8, 2013. The conference will take place entirely within an OpenSimulator virtual world designed specifically for the event, and will feature six topic “tracks” to showcase community activities and projects.

• The Arts & Creativity track will celebrate the diversity of artistic and creative endeavors on OpenSimulator grids. This can include large scale immersive art installations, ballet, theatre, performance art, machinima, literary arts, clothing designs, virtual fashions, architecture, music performances and other cultural expressions.

• The Business & Enterprise track will feature sessions that cover a broad range of uses related to doing business in and with OpenSimulator, including grid hosts, third party developers, private entrepreneurs, in-world and enterprise businesses, as well as corporations and organizations using OpenSimulator for marketing, fundraising, product research, focus groups, and more.

• The Developers & Open Source track covers topics of interest to OpenSimulator developers, including developers of third-party modules, viewer developers, applications that run in and along side OpenSimulator, Hypergrid systems developers, as well as the more technical details of content creation including 3D modeling, mesh, physics, NPCs, and emerging technology tools that help make OpenSimulator tick.

• The Education track will feature sessions that cover a broad range of uses related to teaching and learning in and with OpenSimulator, as well as how schools, colleges, and universities are using OpenSimulator in their day-to-day work, from designing virtual campuses and classrooms, to integration with other campus systems, marketing and outreach, and much more.

• The Research track will explore the ways in which OpenSimulator has become a laboratory for research in a wide range of areas, from computer science and engineering to ethnography and economics.  Please see the research track submission web page for details of the style of submissions and the papers requested.

• The Social & Communities track will explore all the ways in which OpenSimulator offers communities for nearly every interest, from role playing groups to science fiction communities, to virtual towns and interest groups, historical explorations, religious and spiritual communities, book clubs, and so much more. This track will feature sessions that focus on sharing about and improving the social experience and overall community of OpenSimulator users.

To submit a proposal, visit the appropriate track page and be sure to review the specific guidelines for that track, as each track may have different requirements.  Note that proposal submissions are due on July 1, 2013. 

We look forward to seeing your submissions!