Travel grants for invited speakers and authors of accepted abstracts

Online application guidelines 

Application deadline: Please note this deadline was Monday, 7 September 2015 and applications are no longer being accepted.

Please read the guidelines below before completing the online application.

Who is eligible to apply:
The Union is pleased to offer a limited number of conference registrations and/or travel grants to the 46th Union World Conference on Lung Health. Invited presenters of oral abstracts, symposia presentations and poster presentations who would be unable to attend the conference without financial assistance are eligible to apply. Individuals from low- and middle-income countries, as well as those who can demonstrate partial funding for attendance, will be given priority. The number of grants awarded will vary annually, depending upon the amount of funding available. The Union has committed to providing five travel grants to affected communities/ community volunteers for the upcoming conference in Cape Town.

Who will review the applications:
The applications will be reviewed by members of The Union Coordinating Committee on Scientific Activities (CCSA) sub-group 2 and one member of the Bureau or Executive Management Team. In addition to the support offered by The Union, we will seek external grants and donations for additional travel grants and conference registrations. The additional support made available through funding provided by donors will be allocated to applicants who meet their specific requirements regarding country of work, profession, etc.

Minimum eligibility criteria

• Invitation to present an abstract or session at the Cape Town conference
• Currently working or volunteering for a programme or research project in lung health

By the stated deadline, applicants must complete the online application AND submit a motivation letter AND provide two letters of support, as outlined below:

1. One-page letter of motivation including the following points (please note that CVs will not be accepted or reviewed):

• Your current activities in lung health
• Your contribution to the Cape Town conference 
• Your plans for disseminating the knowledge you gain at the conference upon your return home

2. Two letters of support, one from a peer and one from a supervisor or supporting institution (e.g., academic department, NGO, government, association, umbrella organisation). 

This call for application is open until 07 September 2015. Applicants will be notified about the status of their application at the end of September.

Responsibilities of travel grant recipients

All travel grant recipients will be responsible for the following:

• Communicate with Union Travel Services at travel@theunion.org to coordinate travel arrangements
• Contact your home country’s embassy about travel requirements to South Africa and arrange for necessary travel visas
• Ensure that you have a passport that will be valid for at least six months after your return travel date and that has an adequate number of pages for entering the country where conference is held
• Contribute to the conference programme, which includes, at minimum, providing assistance with the Rapporteur Session during the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, 6 December 2015
• Provide Union Communications at communications@theunion.org with a write-up of 250 words maximum describing what you learned at the conference and/or how you disseminated your new knowledge at the community or country level within two months after the conference.

Should any of these requirements not be fulfilled, the award may be revoked and repayable to The Union, and future applications for grants will not be considered.