Dear LREC colleagues, dear friends,

unfortunately I have to announce to you that we cannot hold LREC2020 in May in Marseille. It is a very hard decision, after all the work that has been put towards LREC by all the authors, all the reviewers, and also us organisers, the Local Organisers, the Program Committee and the ELRA Board. As you can imagine it was not an easy decision, but we had to take it because of the gravity of the Covid-19 pandemic and out of respect for your safety and health. We were not prepared, as many other organisers were not, for such a difficult situation, I’m not afraid to admit this. We must act responsibly and for this reason we must announce this now, even if it’s not sure yet what can be done next. We are considering all the options.

The only thing we know for sure is that we will work to publish the Proceedings as planned in May. Your efforts as authors and reviewers will not be lost.

Even if we all know that the value of LREC goes much beyond this, it is in the networking, the crowded poster sessions, the exchange of ideas, also the gathering in the social events (exactly all what we can’t do now).

What will happen next? I tell you the truth, we don’t know yet for sure. We will look into different possibilities, but we are working hard on finding solutions to organize anyway LREC later on in Marseille. We are open to receiving ideas from our community.

We will send you as soon as possible details about the registration fees.

I am sorry to send you such a message. We are living a difficult moment that affects countless aspects of everyday life, full of uncertainties for its evolution. I embrace you all (virtually is still possible).

Stay safe and strong!

Nicoletta