Organiser Roles and Responsibilities

Organising AbjadNLP is a shared responsibility. Every organiser is expected to contribute actively, take ownership of agreed tasks, and complete their work within the workshop's deadlines.

The General Chair coordinates the workshop but is not responsible for completing tasks assigned to other organisers.

All organisers are expected to:

• Own their tasks: Agree on specific responsibilities and deliverables with their co-chairs. Each task must have a clearly identified owner.
• Meet deadlines: Check the official workshop schedule regularly and complete assigned work without relying on reminders.
• Communicate: Respond to operational messages normally within two working days and provide progress updates when requested.
• Raise problems early: Inform the relevant chair immediately if a deadline or commitment is at risk.
• Arrange cover: Give advance notice of planned absences, help arrange suitable cover, and hand over outstanding work.
• Contribute actively: Committee membership is an operational commitment, not simply a title.

Additional responsibilities require agreement. No organiser is automatically expected to complete another person's unfinished work.

Main period: Initial planning through workshop completion.

Responsibilities:

• Coordinate overall workshop planning and delivery.
• Serve as the main contact with COLING organisers.
• Oversee the workshop schedule and major milestones.
• Coordinate keynote invitations, workshop logistics, and final programme integration.
• Ensure that each organising function has responsible chairs and appropriate backup arrangements.
• Monitor major risks, resolve responsibility gaps, and escalate problems when necessary.
• Appoint an Operations Deputy from among consenting organisers.

Expected deliverable: A coordinated workshop with agreed responsibilities, monitored milestones, and completed host-conference obligations.

The General Chair oversees delivery but does not automatically take over unfinished tasks from other organisers.

Main period: Before the Call for Papers through finalisation of the scientific programme. Workload is highest after submissions close.

Programme Chairs must divide responsibility across three portfolios, each with a named lead and deputy.

A. Submissions and Screening

• Prepare the scientific Call for Papers and submission requirements.
• Set up and test the submission system.
• Configure submission tracks and conflict-of-interest declarations.
• Screen submissions against published eligibility requirements.
• Manage submission-related author enquiries.

B. Review Management

• Recruit qualified Programme Committee members and reviewers.
• Assign papers to appropriate, non-conflicted reviewers.
• Aim for three substantive reviews per regular direct submission.
• Monitor review progress and follow up with late reviewers.
• Arrange replacement reviews when necessary.
• Ensure reviews are sufficiently detailed and scientifically useful.

C. Decisions and Scientific Programme

• Coordinate scientific discussions and acceptance decisions.
• Ensure decisions are based on evidence and published criteria.
• Send acceptance and rejection notifications.
• Transfer the verified accepted-paper list to the Publication Chairs.
• Prepare the scientific programme, sessions, and presentation allocations.
• Coordinate session chairs and appropriate backup arrangements.

Expected deliverables: A functioning submission system, completed peer reviews, documented decisions, timely author notifications, and a final scientific programme.

Programme Chairs also arrange independent reviews of shared-task overview papers. They are not responsible for reviewing or managing shared-task system-description papers.

Main period: Initial publication planning before the CFP; main workload begins after acceptance notifications and continues until proceedings delivery is complete.

Publication Chairs must divide responsibilities between technical publication and publication compliance/author communication.

A. Author Communication and Camera-Ready Preparation

• Review publication requirements before submissions open.
• Serve as the primary contact for accepted regular-paper and shared-task overview-paper authors on publication matters.
• Send camera-ready instructions, formatting requirements, and publication deadlines.
• Answer author questions about publication and final manuscript preparation.
• Track final submissions and follow up on missing papers or documentation.
• Request necessary corrections and ensure authors complete publication requirements.
• Verify titles, author names, affiliations, and required publication metadata.

B. Technical Proceedings Preparation

• Check final manuscripts against publication formatting requirements.
• Verify Arabic-script text, Unicode, right-to-left formatting, fonts, and other technical requirements.
• Prepare proceedings front matter, contents, and paper ordering.
• Run technical validation and independent quality checks.
• Assemble and submit the proceedings through the authorised publication channel.
• Respond to host or publisher queries and resolve outstanding technical issues.

Expected deliverables: Complete, technically compliant proceedings submitted through the authorised channel, with publication queries resolved.

Shared-task organisers handle their own system-description papers, author correspondence, and camera-ready preparation. Publication Chairs handle only necessary workshop-wide integration and final submission where required.

Main period: Before the first workshop announcement through post-workshop communications.

Publicity Chairs must divide responsibilities between website management and outreach, with agreed backup arrangements.

A. Website Management

• Maintain accurate information on the AbjadNLP workshop webpage.
• Update deadlines, submission links, organiser information, speaker details, and programme information.
• Publish approved changes promptly.
• Check website links and displayed information.
• Ensure the conduct policy and reporting contacts are clearly accessible.
• Submit all website changes through GitHub pull requests.

B. Outreach and Announcements

• Prepare and distribute the Call for Papers and subsequent reminders.
• Promote the workshop through academic mailing lists, institutions, research networks, and social media.
• Reach Arabic, Perso-Arabic, Ajami, and other relevant research communities.
• Announce approved keynote speakers, shared tasks, accepted-paper information, and programme updates.
• Publish approved post-workshop announcements and proceedings links.

Expected deliverables: An accurate, regularly updated workshop website and timely, effective dissemination of approved announcements.

Website editing: https://github.com/drelhaj/elhaj

AbjadNLP 2027 page: https://github.com/drelhaj/elhaj/blob/main/abjad2027.html

Publicity Chairs must prepare and submit website changes themselves through GitHub pull requests. The repository owner reviews and approves changes but is not responsible for preparing the content or making updates on their behalf.

Main period: Shared-task planning and launch through completion of evaluation, publications, and task-related workshop sessions.

Each shared task is independently managed by its own organising team, with a designated lead and deputy.

Shared-task organisers are responsible for:

• Designing and announcing their task.
• Preparing datasets, baselines, evaluation scripts, and participation rules.
• Maintaining task infrastructure and participant communication.
• Managing registration, submissions, questions, and technical support.
• Running evaluations, checking results, and resolving evaluation problems.
• Recruiting and assigning reviewers for system-description papers.
• Ensuring every system-description paper receives at least two independent, substantive reviews.
• Following up on reviewers and making acceptance decisions.
• Managing camera-ready instructions, publication metadata, author correspondence, and corrections for system-description papers.
• Preparing shared-task overview papers for independent workshop review.
• Creating and maintaining their own shared-task webpages through GitHub pull requests.
• Organising task-related presentations and delivering required information for workshop-wide scheduling and publication.

Expected deliverables: A fully managed shared task, verified results, appropriately reviewed system-description papers, complete publication materials, and task-related workshop sessions.

The AbjadNLP main organising committee does not manage shared-task operations, review system-description papers, or take over unfinished shared-task responsibilities.

Shared-task overview papers are reviewed independently through the AbjadNLP Programme Chairs.

Main period: When advice or independent input is requested.

Advisers may:

• Provide scientific and strategic guidance.
• Advise on workshop direction and research-community engagement.
• Offer independent advice on governance questions when appropriately appointed.
• Support resolution of specific matters within their agreed advisory scope.

Expected contribution: Relevant scientific, strategic, or independent advice when requested and accepted.

Advisory membership is not a routine operational role and does not automatically create responsibility for organising tasks.

Main period: Following review assignment through completion of reviews and discussions.

Reviewers are expected to:

• Accept only papers they can competently review within the agreed deadline.
• Declare conflicts of interest promptly.
• Read submissions carefully and provide substantive, constructive reviews.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Participate in scientific discussions where required.
• Notify Programme Chairs immediately if they cannot complete an assigned review.
• Follow applicable reviewing and generative AI requirements.

Expected deliverables: Timely, independent, evidence-based reviews of assigned regular workshop papers and shared-task overview papers.

Programme Committee members are not required to review shared-task system-description papers unless they separately and voluntarily accept an assignment from the relevant shared-task team.

The General Chair may appoint an Operations Deputy from among consenting organisers to assist with:

• Maintaining the workshop task register.
• Recording agreed responsibilities and major decisions.
• Tracking progress and identifying overdue deliverables.
• Coordinating meeting records and routine follow-up.
• Reporting significant delivery risks to the relevant chairs.

Other designated roles include conduct contacts, an independent governance reviewer, an academic Conflict of Interest Chair, and a records custodian. Their responsibilities are established in the full workshop policy.

Expected deliverable: Accurate operational records and timely identification of outstanding responsibilities.

The Operations Deputy is not responsible for completing overdue tasks on behalf of other organisers.

Organisers must notify the relevant chair as soon as they become aware that an agreed task or deadline is at risk.

The responsible chair will coordinate an appropriate solution, which may include agreed assistance, reassignment, an authorised deadline adjustment, or reduction of optional work.

Organisers wishing to withdraw should preferably notify the General Chair before publication of the first Call for Papers.

After the first CFP, withdrawing organisers are expected to give at least 14 calendar days' notice where reasonably practicable, assist in identifying a replacement, and complete an orderly handover.

Emergencies and other compelling circumstances will be handled reasonably. Withdrawal is not conditional upon securing a replacement.

Repeated serious non-performance may result in reassignment or removal under the procedures in the full policy.

Organising appointments are responsibilities, not automatic entitlements to publication credit.

Final organiser recognition, proceedings editorship, and paper authorship are distinct and depend on actual qualifying contributions and applicable publication requirements.

An organiser who does not fulfil substantive agreed responsibilities is not automatically entitled to final recognition as an active organiser.

Work already completed must be recognised fairly, including where an organiser subsequently withdraws or is removed.

This page provides a practical summary of the principal responsibilities associated with each role.

The full AbjadNLP 2027 Workshop Policy governs detailed procedures, conflicts of interest, conduct, appeals, publication requirements, and the allocation of authority. Where this summary and the full policy differ, the adopted full policy and applicable higher-authority requirements take precedence.