Subject: Lisbon SIG Coordinators meeting Minutes:

SIG Coordinators meeting Lisbon, Tuesday September 6, 2005
Camoy Room, 12.00~13.00
Present: SynSig: Simon King, Nick Campbell
InSTIL: Nick Campbell
SpLC: Joe Campbell
SProSIG: D.J.Hirst, Nick Campbell
SigDial: W. Minker
SIG-CSLP: Chiu-yu Tseng, Jianhua Tao
AFCP: G. Gravier, P. Perrier
AVISA Sig: D. Burnham
AISV-Sig: P. Cosi V. Ramasubramanian (Indian Language)

ISCA Board members: Sadaoki Furui
Wolfgang Hess
Hiroya Fujisaki
Gerrit Bloothooft
Lin-shan Lee
Eva Hajicova
Manu Foxonet

1. Introduction of those who are present, welcome for the new SIG AISV (Piero Cosi)

2. Interspeech 2005 - information about the situation concerning the SIG presentation (E.Hajicova): for financial reasons (costly space at the Center of Culture) it was not possible to reserve a space for SIG posters. Also, organizers of Interspeech 2006 will not announce an open bid for special sessions, though a well-substantiated proposal will be considered. Discussion: It is a strong duty for SIGs to present themselves at Interspeech events, this should be arranged for. - There may be possiblities other than a special session for SIGs to get more visible, e.g. a booth. -

ACTION: immediate contact with the Technical Programme Chair of Interspeech 2006 to discuss this point. - E. Hajicova

3. Possible financial support for SIGs activities:
(a) individual grants for participants,
(b) "seed" money for a SIG (from 500 to 1000 Euros) for an event that would install the SIG, or make a new SIG visible. Discussion: SPLC has asked for financial support for their conference but because of several negative responses from ISCA Board they had to shift under the auspices of IEEE. GB and SF have clarified the situation: ISCA can certainly offer a loan (uop to 10000 Euro) but it cannot take any financial responsibiity.

ACTION: The information on this rule or practice should be better known by SIGs, include in a summary message to SIGs about the results of this meeting (EH).

4. Indian representative delivered a report on speech activities in India to support the idea to create a new SIG on Indian languages.

ACTION: Indian group was encouraged :
(a) to act according to the ISCA Statutes and ISCA-SIG by-laws and to initiate the establishement of an ISCA SIG,
(b) if they need some seed money, to ask ISCA Board for a financial support for their initial activities.

5. Suggestions for ISCA Board and general discussion:
(a) More visibility for SIGs: MF: SIGs are encouraged to send Manu information to be included in ISCA Pad and on ISCA web page

ACTION: All WH: proposes to include information resulting from SIG meetings, workshops etc. to ISCA Archive, he is willing to do that if he gets the materials. ACTION: All DH: in order to inform the broad audience about SIGs, it is necessary to include some information on these activities at a plenary or closing meeting of Interspeech, not just at the General Assembly.
ACTION: Inform the organizers of Interspeech 2006 and prepare the information in cooperation with SIGs coordinators (EH)

(b) Grant rules: Some people do not count as possible applicants (e.g. because of age), and if it is possible to make exceptions, this should be better advertised.

ACTION: Revise the announcement of grants on the web in order to mention possible exceptions. (EH)

(c) Interspeech 2006 and 2007: organize a SIG show by compiling slides advertising SIGs activities.

ACTION: (i)SIGs coordinators should be asked to compile the slides and send them to EH. All
(ii) Discuss with organizers of Interspeech 2006 and 2007 how to present the collected material (EH)

(d) SIG coordinators meeting at Interspeech 2006: the Interspeech Organizational Committee representative of Interspeech 2007 should be invited to the SIG coordinators meeting in Pittsburgh.

ACTION: EH (e) SIGs should have their say for the selection of the reviewers as a help to the organizers and also as a kind of active participation at the technical programme composition. Unfortunately, some SIGs have tried that for the present Interspeech but there was no response from the side of the Technical Committee. ACTION: The organizers of Interspeech 2006 should get a list of SIG coordinators with their e'mail addresses and should be asked to turn to the coordinators and ask for suggestions of names. (EH)

(f) Manu Foxonet asked all the SIG coordinators to send the addresses of their webs so that she can complete the list on the ISCA web.
ÃCTION: All, MF &. Sadaoki Furui has emphasized that the activities of SIGs are understood by the ISCA Board the most important component part of ISCA activities, thanked the coordinators for the work and asked them to increase their visibility by any way they suppose to be good; he assured the coordinators that ISCA Board will be always supportive and helpful in this direction.

6. Eva Hajicova closed the meeting by thanking all the participants for having come, for being very active during the discussions and asked them to send her any comments to the preliminary draft of the minutes of the meeting she will first distribute to the participants and then after modifying them according to the incoming comments, send them to all the ISCA SIG coordinators.