Logistic Information

• ISCO will set up a Secretariat at the hotel to serve the needs of the workshop participants and guests.
• We will provide guides fluent in English, who are capable of assisting guests in the hotel and around the city. If a good number of participants require guides that can speak other languages, such as Arabic or French, we will try to provide them as well. Please check with the Secretariat (info@mtcm.ir) one week before the program for more information.
• ISCO will cover the costs of one official city representative. This includes hotel accommodations, three meals, and inner-city transportation (related to the program).
• We will not pay for any cost incurred by accompanying persons.
• Extra fees such as international or domestic calls, dinner, snack bar, laundry, room service, etc… will not be covered for registered participants.
• There is a daily breakfast buffet that is free to hotel patrons.
• For lunch there is a buffet as well, although some lunches will be out of the hotel.
• Diners maybe held outside of the hotel in the form a leisure tour.
• For all meals out of the hotel, transportation will be provided and food costs will be covered by us.
• We will send an MTCM representative to welcome international participants at the airport.
• o For international guests, transportation to and from the airport is provided by our municipality and we will provide an escort to receive and take them to and from the airport.
• The conference venue will be announced at a later time. Please check our site for updated information.
• The workshops will be translated into Persian and English. Interpreter devises can be checked out at convenient stations at the entrance of the program venues.

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 Rules

• Based on Metropolis regulations, international certificates will be awarded only to those who have completely attended 80% of the total active time of the course program plus taking part in the Technical Tour.
• See Participating in Classes for detailed information.

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 About PowerPoint Standards

A few hints are listed below for those who are going to give a PowerPoint presentation. In addition, required standards are also given that are mandatory for all to follow.

Participants, if they wish, can give a PowerPoint or oral presentation (i.e. best practice or innovative project) of their city in relation to the theme.

• Please coordinate with the MTCM Secretariat up to two weeks after registration is opened.
• The time limit is 5 or 15 minutes depending on the objectives, please coordinate with the MTCM Secretariat.
• Remember the aim of your presentation is to clearly introduce your city in regards to what you have done or plan to do regarding the topic.
• All presentations, oral and/or on PowerPoint slides, must be in English.
• For each minute consider one PowerPoint slide, so 5 minutes = 5 slides, etc.
• PowerPoint presentations should not have any images or messages that the audience would find offensive, such as semi-nude or nude images.
• PowerPoint presentations should be sent to the Secretariat (info@mtcm.ir or info@mashhadisco.ir) before 2 weeks before the opening session, so as to include them in our CD, which will be distributed at the end of the course program.

• PowerPoint presentations should not have any images or messages that the audience would find offensive, such as semi-nude or nude images.
• Please mind prearranged time limits.
• All presentations and PowerPoint presentations should be in English.
• PowerPoint presentations should be sent to the Secretariat (info@mtcm.ir or info@mashhadisco.ir) 2 weeks before the opening session, so as to include them in our CD, which will be distributed at the end of the course program.
• The overall set-up of PowerPoint presentations should be easy to read in a short time span.

• Remember that not everyone is fluent in English or Persian and that your presentation is being simultaneously translated, so your rate of speaking needs to be a bit slower, but not so slow that it would become boring.

• Begin by preparing the audience for what you are going to talk about.
• Begin each section by briefly talking about the main points.
• End each section by briefly summarizing what you said.
• At the end of each presentation summarize your main points.

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 Visual Effectiveness:

• Using serif fonts, such as New Times Roman,in your headlines helps guide the eye of the reader along lines.
• Using sans serif fonts, such as Arial, Calibri, or Tahoma in your body helps make them easier to read. Overall, this type of font is easier to read for text on-screen.
• Use decreasing font sizes for main & secondary points, for example, main point 34, then secondary 30. At least a font size of 18 should be used.
• Make points or list, not complete & complex sentences.
• Do not overload your slides with many lines. Have a maximum of 5 lines with 5 words on your slide.
• Use at least a 1.5 line space between lines.
• Reduce using capitalizing, as it is hard to read.
• Avoid italics as well.
• Color contracts are preferred, such as white background & black font color.
• Background colors should not overwhelm the overall slide.
• Font colors should not be so light that it makes it hard to see.
• Using graphs are good, but they should not be so small and full of insignificant details. Select only trends.
• Title your graphs.
• Proofread your slides and check for any spelling, grammar, or fact errors.
• Ask a native English speaker to check it.
• Check for consistency in your formatting and follow these standard hints to have an effective presentation.

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