ACM SIGGRAPHia

For 2012, the International Center returned to the prominent South Lobby of the LA Convention Center. As in previous years, it was located adjacent to the ACM SIGGRAPH Village, and provided a lounge area for attendees to meet or work informally, or just take a break from a long day at the SIGGRAPH Conference. Its presentation area, known for many years as the ‘International Theater’, was renamed this year to ‘ACM SIGGRAPH Theater’. This reflects the global and inclusive quality of the ACM SIGGRAPH Organization, and continues to include the ‘international’ quality of presentations to be found there, including regional group meetings, organizations such as the ACM SIGGRAPH Digital Arts Community or the Inter-Society for the Electronic Arts, and the international ACM SIGGRAPH Chapters.

SIGGRAPH 2012 International Center

NEW FOR 2012!

• Meetings were held focusing on Australasia and Africa and Middle East, making for a truly international range of regional presentations.
• We also saw that the International Center is becoming the hub for all things ‘Chapters’ at the Conference. Information sessions were held for those interested in joining or starting an ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter in the ACM SIGGRAPH Theater. There were also sessions of those who wanted to find out more about the events and activities of Chapters in different parts of the world, all in the ACM SIGGRAPH Theater and categorized by world region.
• The ACM SIGGRAPH Theater also hosted sessions for those who run an international user groups (truly ‘global’ or highly ‘regional’) that planned individual Birds of a Feather sessions for SIGGRAPH 2012.

About the International Resources Committee:

The International Center is managed by the International Resources Committee. With over 30 members based around the world, this committee engages in year-round activities that include facilitation of worldwide collaboration, English Review Service, and promotion of ACM SIGGRAPH and its conferences. Some of these committee members attend the conference every year. Assisted by a helpful army of international Student Volunteers at the International Center, they are available to provide pathfinding, networking, and translation services.

Be sure to visit them in Anaheim at SIGGRAPH 2013!

International Resources hosted a meeting for those interested in starting up an ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter. A key takeaway was that starting a chapter can be a bit of an undertaking and isn’t something that should be entered into lightly. (This is especially true if you’d like to be an officer of the chapter because being an officer requires membership in both ACM and ACM SIGGRAPH.) It is for this reason that finding a leadership group was recommended, because it’ll allow individuals to share the workload. The next step is to gauge interest in your area, because to get a charter, you need 10 people on the application. ACM can help with this, because if you reach out to them, an email can be forwarded to members in your area on your behalf with your contact information.

For more information on starting an ACM SIGGRAPH chapter visit: http://www.siggraph.org/chapters.