Who’s Who Stalls: 2026 Participation Guidelines

What is the "Who’s Who" space?

The "Who’s Who" area is a dedicated hub at SCCS Bengaluru for organisations, collectives, and individual practitioners to share their work, connect with like-minded individuals and inspire students. Unlike the formal conference sessions, this is a space designed for organic networking, swapping ideas, and finding new collaborators within the conservation community.

This is your space to reach out to students who may be interested in your work, offer any opportunities to work/collaborate with you, and spread the word about all that you do! Please think of this endeavour mainly as an outreach medium. Share contact information, relevant links to your organisation/institution’s work and start a conversation! Advertising of technology and solutions is encouraged, and we hope you will bring along creative and meaningful displays/activities for the participants to engage with.

To keep the focus on conservation impact, we do not accommodate purely commercial vendors. We understand that organisations/initiatives/individuals who meet the eligibility criteria might have their own merchandise, which may be tied to conservation or supporting forest-dependent communities. While you may showcase your conservation-related products, no commercial transactions/sale of merchandise will be allowed in the Who’s Who space.

Who can apply?

We welcome applications from those whose work aligns with conservation and environmental goals, including organisations/institutions, social enterprises, grassroots research groups, and environmental education and communication initiatives.

Who should not apply

Organisations, institutions, groups, or individuals whose primary work is commercial/for-profit in nature.

Artists and creatives—we encourage you to apply through the Artists’ Corner, which is designed specifically to showcase artistic contributions to conservation.

Stalls are intended to facilitate meaningful engagement with students, researchers, and practitioners.

Purpose of the Stall

  • Highlight organisational priorities, focus areas, and ongoing programmes
  • Engage with potential applicants and collaborators
  • Provide clarity on application processes and expectations
  • Share information about funding opportunities, grants, and fellowships

Permitted Activities

  • Display of informational materials (brochures, reports, flyers)
  • One-on-one interactions with participants
  • Showcasing funded projects and impact stories
  • Showcasing institutional collections and products (NO SALES ALLOWED)
  • Educational products may be displayed only. A QR code leading to the product's website is fine.
  • Sharing application timelines and eligibility criteria
  • Hosting informal discussions around funding pathways

Not Permitted

  • Direct sales or commercial transactions
  • No QR codes for sales
  • Promotion of unrelated products or services
  • Collection of participant data without clear consent
  • Branding or marketing unrelated to conservation

Application Procedure

Note: Requests beyond the brief provided in the application stage will not be entertained during the conference.

How we select participants

Space is limited, so the Organising Committee reviews applications based on a few core values:

  • Relevance: How well your work connects to current conservation challenges.
  • Perspective: We aim for a diverse mix of organisations and geographic regions.
  • Engagement: We prioritise stalls that offer interactive ways for attendees to learn or participate.
  • Community: We look for a history of (or potential for) meaningful collaboration with the SCCS network.

We request you to make it easy for us to know you - please provide links to websites and social media handles wherever possible.

Engagement Expectations from Participants

  • Actively engage with conference participants through conversations, demonstrations or outreach materials
  • Have representatives from your organisation/institution/group who are able to share more about the work being done, and share any opportunities for students to collaborate/work/volunteer with you
  • Showcase work that aligns with conservation ethics and sustainability values
  • Avoid purely passive product displays or commercial sales of products as the main focus of your stall

The sale of products is strictly prohibited.

If you are planning activities at your stall, please make sure that they are engaged in only during the allocated ‘Who’s Who’ time slots; nothing should be scheduled when talks/posters/workshops are scheduled. Any planned activity should also be a part of the pitch at the application stage.

Registration & Participation

  • Stall allocation is confirmed only upon completion of registration formalities
  • Registration includes conference access (with meals) for up to two representatives per stall
  • Additional representatives must register separately
  • Accommodation is available on request at additional cost

Logistics & Infrastructure

Stall Details:

Each stall will be provided with a poster board and two tables.

You may display one A0 poster and a couple of A2 posters. Orientation is flexible (landscape or portrait), but poster size must not exceed 3ft (width) x 4ft (height).

  • Power supply or special requirements must be communicated in advance
  • Setup and dismantling timelines will be strictly enforced

Outreach & Visibility

Selected stall partners are encouraged to:

  • Promote their participation through institutional and social media networks
  • Tag and collaborate with SCCS Bengaluru in pre-conference visibility efforts

Timelines

Final stall confirmations will be subject to space availability and organisers’ approval.

Policy Authority

The Organising Committee reserves the right to curate, approve or decline stall applications in line with conference priorities and logistical feasibility. All decisions will be clearly communicated to participants.