In light of the tragic events in New York and Washington, DC, the Audio Engineering Society has announced that its 111th convention, originally scheduled for September 21-24 at the Javits Center in New York, has been postponed until later in the year.
According to AES executive director Roger Furness, "We have just returned from the Javits Center where we had a meeting with their top management. We learned that the New York City Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have taken over large portions of the Javits Center for use in coordinating emergency services. We also learned that FEMA will have complete control of these spaces and any others that they need, for an undetermined period. This obviously makes holding the event as planned impossible. However, we were able to reschedule the convention, rather than just cancel it. Most of the people who contacted us hoped that this would be the solution."
The new dates will be Friday, November 30 to Monday, December 3, with the same exhibit, demo, and conference space as would have been used this week.
"We at the Audio Engineering Society would like to thank those of you who took the time and trouble to inquire about the safety of the staff here in the New York Office and to wish us well and give us your support. This was much appreciated," Furness adds.
"Lastly at this sad time, we would like to spare a thought for those who have had their lives so much more severely disrupted than any of us," he concludes. "We were, and are, very sensitive to their feelings. Let us hope that we can look forward to better times ahead."