CALL FOR BIDS TO HOST AAMAS 2005

BACKGROUND

Bids are solicited to host the Fourth International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS) in 2005. AAMAS is a joint event comprising the 9th International Conference on Autonomous Agents (AA), the 8th International Conference on Multiagent Systems (ICMAS), and the 12th International Workshop on Agent Theories, Architectures, and Languages (ATAL).

The First AAMAS conference (AAMAS'2002) was held in Bologna, Italy, July 15 - 19, 2002. AAMAS'2002 was attended by 700 researchers. The Second AAMAS conference (AAMAS'2003) was held in Melbourne, Australia, July 14 - 18, 2003 and had 500 attendees. AAMAS'2004 will be held in New York, USA, July 19 - 23, 2004.

This makes AAMAS the biggest and most influential conference in the dynamic field of agents and multiagent systems, bringing together researchers and practitioners in all areas of agent technology such as software agents, multiagent systems, synthetic agents, robotic agents, human agent interaction, and mobile agents. The AAMAS Joint Conferences include a variety of activities, including technical sessions, tutorials, associated workshops, and social events. See the
recent conference website at http://www.aamas-conference.org for an example.

The AAMAS Steering Committee now invites bids for hosting AAMAS 2005.
AAMAS 2005 will be held at a date to be determined in consultation with the successful bid team, in June or July 2005. Based on past experience and trends we expect the attendance of AAMAS2005 to be between 500 and 800 people. The AAMAS Steering Committee particularly encourages strong bids from the Europe/ Africa/ Middle East region.
However, attractive bids from all regions will be considered.

BIDDING PROCEDURE

All correspondence regarding bids should be directed to Joerg Mueller, co-chair of the AAMAS Joint Conference Steering committee:
Dr. Joerg Mueller
e-mail: joerg.p.mueller@siemens.com
VOICE: +49 89 636 43135
FAX: +49 89 636 41423

Email correspondence is strongly preferred.

Bids should be made by individuals or small groups, with the backing of a host institution (typically a university or research centre). Groups or individuals who are planning to submit a bid should notify Dr. Mueller of their intention as soon as possible.

Bids must be submitted NO LATER THAN October 24, 2003.

Bids are geared towards determination of responsibility for local arrangements and designation of Local Arrangements Chair. Bids will be reviewed by the AAMAS steering committee, and the outcome of the site selection will be announced in late October.

A bid should consist of a short statement that explains why you meet the criteria below. Bids should be no more than a few pages in length, and at this stage, detailed financial projections are not necessary. (Ballpark financial figures -- such as estimated cost of hotel rooms -- are useful, however.) Each bid should clearly identify the authors, including full contact details.

CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING AAMAS'2005 BIDS

The following criteria will be used for evaluation.

* Site Location --- attractiveness to conference attendees [as well as those accompanying the attendees (i.e. nearby attractions, tours, restaurants, night clubs, etc.).] Will people *want* to attend?

* Accessibility --- location with respect to major air routes and local transportation (trains, buses, automobiles). Function as a gateway city serviced by both domestic and international air lines; ease of connecting to local transportation.

* Dates/Time --- relation to possibly conflicting special or local holidays; to other conventions or special events at the same time or immediately before or after the conference.

* Climate/Season --- particularly as these factors affect availability of rooms and rate structure (and provide some negotiating edge with the hotels).

* Facilities -- quantity, quality, flexibility, availability of meeting rooms, meeting support services, and exhibition hall. This factor is linked to the choice of accommodations, as may be desirable to co-locate meeting facilities and accommodations. Provide preliminary information regarding any space rental fees that may have to be paid by the conference.

* Accommodations --- ability to accommodate the anticipated numbers of conference attendees, with a range of income levels.

* Experience of the local organizers in organizing and handling projects of comparable size and complexity

" Supporting Scientific Community --- the presence of regional and local research communities to support the conference and to benefit from its presence.

* Supporting Local Industry --- is there local/national industry that may be willing to support the conference in some way?

* Volunteer Labor --- availability of an active local group willing to help out before, during, and after the conference.