The Schedule

The idea of a BIRS workshop is to allow the exchange of the latest and most important information in your field and to allow people the time to discuss and brainstorm together in an inspiring and stress-free setting. We leave the detailed structure of your meeting up to you. However, we wish to encourage the scheduling of some unstructured time and discourage the notion that every participant should be invited to speak.

Travel and Accommodation

Participants are expected to arrive and depart on Sunday afternoon or evening. Accommodation and meals are provided for the organizers and participants for the duration of the workshop.

The nearest international airport is in Calgary and there are regular shuttle services connecting it to Banff. The shuttle bus will take you right to the Banff Centre. Directions by car and transit are listed in more detail under "Getting to BIRS". Local information is available under Resources for Participants.

Some of your group may be interested in extending their visit to Banff, and possibly involving their families. The BIRS facility has no provision for accompanying family members or for extension of participants' stays. However, the Banff Centre itself (in which BIRS is located) has considerable facilities for accommodation, both for singles and families. Also the town of Banff, which is readily accessible by foot (about 10 minutes, downhill) from the Banff Centre, offers a variety of accommodations. You can find a useful map showing the location of the Banff Centre and some of the main hotels, restaurants, and attractions of Banff at: http://www.discoverbanff.com/Maps/

The following are a few examples of Banff tourism/accommodation websites:

• Banff/Lake Louise Tourism Bureau
• Discover Banff
• 'FoundLocally' Accommodation