General Proposal Guidelines

What will the Asia  Pro Bono Conference be both successful and different than many other conferences is the nature of how the Conference is conducted. We strongly try to steer clear from having the Conference be a “talk fest” or just having people present on what they do. Rather, the Conference is one that engages the presenter and the participants alike, throughout the entire session. It is done in a participatory manner throughout. This helps to ensure a richer sharing of ideas and also helps to guarantee that participants are attentive and directly included.

We therefore very much work to avoid sessions where the presenters simply speak to each other and then at the end enlist questions and answers from the participants. While this can be a part of the session, we strongly urge/request that other interesting, participatory methods be employed. One of the Conference session mottos has been that they must be: “Far Reaching/Flexible/Fun!”.

Session Themes

The sessions will continue to be engaging, informative, interactive, and fun much like almost all of the APBC sessions at the physical conferences. Equally so, there will be an incredible array of presenters, from the Asia region and globally, who are renowned for being front-line access to justice and pro bono champions. The sessions will be in keeping with the “values” that the APBC has come to be known for, to ensure that as many of these values are kept, and new ones developed.

Session proposals must link to the conference theme Reflections and Collaborative Future Vision and one or more of the session themes listed below. Proposals that explore themes outside this list, but remain within the field of pro bono, are also welcome.

• Pro Bono and Access to Justice Partnerships
• Pro Bono and Access to Justice Reporting Mechanisms
• Pro Bono and Ageing Populations
• Pro Bono and Paralegalism
• Pro Bono and Students
• Pro Bono Assistance for the Marginalized and Vulnerable
• Pro Bono Awareness – Celebrating and Inspiring Pro Bono Culture Development
• Pro Bono Capacity Building
• Pro Bono Monitoring and Evaluation Systems
• Pro Bono Strengthening Through Multi-Sector Engagement
• Pro Bono Support for Climate Justice
• Pro Bono Support for People Who Use Drugs
• Public Interest Law/Strategic Litigation Pro Bono
• Social Enterprise Law Firm Models
• Strengthening Pro Bono Through Technology
• Sustainable Pro Bono and Access to Justice Systems
• The Evolving and Empowering Nature of Pro Bono and Access to Justice
• The Fundamentals of Pro Bono Services and Systems
• The History of Pro Bono
• The Impact of Pro Bono on the Sustainable Development Goals/Goal 16
• The Intersection and Differences between Pro Bono and Legal Aid
• The Role of Bar Associations in Supporting Pro Bono
• Other Suggested Presentation Topics Related to the Conference Theme

Session Format

Each concurrent session will be either by 60 or 75 minutes long and must be delivered in person or as a hybrid session (a combination of in-person and online presenters). Virtual-only sessions will not be eligible for submission.

Session Presentations 

We would like to suggest the following guidelines when preparing your session design:

• Please avoid the extensive use of PowerPoint slides and absolutely avoid PowerPoint slides with a great amount of text writing.
• Work with your team to generate impactful discussion questions relevant to the topic. Do not be afraid to be provocative and bold, as that is exactly how we want the audience to respond!
• Inject the session with valuable nuggets of information which you envision your session’s delegates to take away with them.
• Please remember to apportion a good amount of time for audience interaction and Q&A.
• We want all our participants to be able to take home practical lessons which they can integrate within their own pro bono initiatives.

Submission Process

All proposals must be submitted electronically via the online submission form below and before the call deadline. We will not accept proposals submitted via email.

Please note: the Conference is run on a revenue neutral basis. Therefore, all participants including organizers, and presenters alike, are required to register and pay the full registration fees.

Proposal applications must be in English and include the session title, session description, brief explanations of its relevance to the session themes, session objectives to be accomplished at the conference, and a bio and headshot of all presenters organizing the session.

Important Dates

Within 2 weeks of being accepted

All accepted presenters and co-presenters must register and pay the conference registration fees.