Deadline: 28 February 2026
20 February 2026
Special sessions will be specially-themed tracks in the main conference. The idea is to attract high-quality submissions on topics of particular interest to our community. We are particularly interested in sessions that will set new directions for future research and bring new voices into our community. These sessions will be part of the main conference and will run alongside other conference sessions.
Organizing a special session provides an opportunity to explore in depth a particular topic within the main conference, and to bring new ideas and new people into the ALife community. We are open to any ideas you might have that might create a buzz around your topic or the conference in general, such as advertising the session outside of the usual ALife community or holding panel or group discussions as part of the session.
Submissions to your session will go through the main conference review system. As a session organizer, you would set the topic of the session, attract submissions through whatever means you wish, and chair the session at the conference.
Please note that special sessions are different from workshops. The main difference is that special sessions are part of the main conference – they share its review process and accepted submissions will appear in the proceedings. There will also be workshop sessions at ALIFE 2025, and a call for workshop proposals will be sent out separately.
ALIFE 2026 will again be held in a hybrid format, as has been customary in recent years, however at least one of the special session organizers is must register and attend in person, while still allowing for online participation more broadly.
We welcome session proposals on any topic.
Submission Process
Every special session proposal should include:
Title of the special session- Name(s) and affiliation(s) of the organizer(s) with contact details
- Short bio or CV of the organizer(s)
- Description of the session theme, including why this session theme deserves special attention from the ALife community (about 250 words)
- What you propose to do to support the session, such as advertising it or in terms of organisation (about 150 words)
- List of 3-5 senior reviewers suggestions relevant for your session
- Submit proposal with all the above information in a single pdf at https://ssl.linklings.net/conferences/ALIFE/
Contact program2026@alife.org for any queries.