The National Genealogical Society 2020 Family History Conference, Echoes of Our Ancestors, will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, 20‒23 May 2020. NGS opened the call for proposals on 2 January 2019 and proposals will be accepted until 1 April 2019.

The echoes of our ancestors resonate within us. Their voices, beliefs, cultures, choices, experiences, and traditions still influence the people we are today. We carry their physical traits in our DNA, and display some of their talents and occupational inclinations. The choices our ancestors made—including their decisions to migrate and where to settle—continue to influence new generations and are often reflected in their religion, associations, sense of cultural heritage, and ties to communities.

The NGS 2020 Family History Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, will explore our connections to our ancestors and the vestiges of their lives, which we can discover through the records that still exist. Conference tracks under consideration include the following:

Impact of wars, poverty, famine, persecution, and the industrial revolution on movement from ancestral homes in the Americas and abroad
Immigration, naturalization, and passenger records
Historical migrations, trails, and events that affected patterns of settlement
Hard-to-find ancestors who seem to disappear from records
Approaches to rural and urban research
Military records
Occupations and trades
Modes of transportation
Religions and related record collections
Ethnic resources and research techniques
Postcards, letters, diaries, and manuscripts
Immigrant, benevolent, and religious associations
Specialized collections of the Family History Library and other repositories

NGS also requests proposals that include the integration of DNA and technology in family history research as well as methodology and problem solving. NGS encourages proposals that demonstrate methods to help genealogists accurately identify ancestors through reasonably exhaustive research, proper source citations, analysis and correlation, resolution of conflicts, and sound reasoning and coherent writing.

Please visit the NGS website for details about required speaker information, compensation, and submission of proposals.

This year NGS has included a free webinar, Becoming a Better Conference Speaker: Proposals and Preparations, which can be found on the National Genealogical Society YouTube channel. Speakers are encouraged to view the webinar before beginning the proposal process. Topics covered include: Lecture Proposals, Presentation, Syllabus, Communicate, and Deliver.

NGS members will receive first consideration as speakers. Notifications for acceptance will be issued in September 2019. Syllabus material is required for each lecture or workshop presentation and will be included in the syllabus distributed to all conference registrants. For more information, please see the NGS website.