CHI 2021 (Yokohama, Japan / Online)

CHI 2021 – The ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems is the premier international conference on Human-Computer Interaction. CHI – pronounced ‘kai’ – is a place where researchers and practitioners gather from across the world to discuss the latest in interactive technology.

CHI is generally considered the most prestigious in the field of HCI and attracts thousands of international attendees annually. CHI will be held for the first time in Japan, in the city of Yokohama, just south-west of Tokyo.

In 2021 our conference will be a hybrid conference event, and our theme encourages authors and delegates to make waves as they feature the latest discoveries and advances in HCI and shake up the existing state of affairs. And to think of CHI as a platform to combine strengths of different people from different perspectives. This gives rise to our CHI 2021 theme “Making Waves, Combining Strengths”.

Hybrid Conference Model

The organisers for CHI 2021 are exploring a hybrid conference model. This would consist of a physical (aka “real-world conference”) coupled with an “online conference” event with both in-person (local) and remote delegates. CHI has already taken steps in this direction with recording some talks and streaming sessions in previous years.

For 2021 we aim to go further with the hybrid model which will allow CHI to be more inclusive and welcoming to a larger community who cannot attend in person due to travel, health, budget or other restrictions. This means supporting remote and in-person conference delegate attendance. Of course, in exploring more hybrid aspects, we aim to preserve the diversity, inclusion and accessibility of any physical event.

Any physical restrictions in place in May of 2021 will dictate how much of a physical/online event versus entirely online event will take place. SIGCHI conferences are expected to break-even, so the question of registration costs will also need to be carefully considered to ensure a viable event.