INS 2012

Welcome to the INS 2012 website.

We very much look forward to seeing you in Bonifacio for the International Neuropsychological Symposium meeting. The scientific sessions will start on tuesday the 26th of June at 9 am and finish at lunchtime on Saturday the 30th. However, we plan to have a get together meeting at the Hotel Genovese on monday evening from 7pm onwards.

This year, the meeting is being organised by Simon Thorpe and other members of the Brain and Cognition Research Centre, an CNRS research lab in the University of Toulouse. Nadège Bacon-Macé will be helping to organize the meeting.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact us by emailing us at this address.

This year's program

LATEST NEWS (May 24th) - You can download the complete INS program here.
Here is a summary table with the topics and the general schedule:

Registration is now opened here, and is possible using an online credit card payment system via a secure website. If you prefer to make the payment by direct bank transfer, please let us know.

The registration fee will be 190 euros until the 15th of April.

After that time, the fee will increase to 210 euros.

The registration fee covers room hire, welcome reception, pauses in the morning and afternoon, an excursion, and the gala dinner.

Accompanying persons will be able to sign up for the gala dinner for a price of 55 euros.

LAST UPDATE: (June, 7th) - 87 participants

Venue

The conference will be held in the "Espace St Jacques", a converted Church in the upper town that dates from the 13th and 14th centuries. You can find information about the venue (in French) from the city's website here with technical details here and here

It seats up to 99 people, has air conditioning and wifi access, and has video and audio installed.

Pauses

The pauses will be in one of two places: either in the courtyard immediately next to the Espace St Jacques, or in the Hotel Genovese, which is just opposite the center. We have block booked the Hotel for the entire meeting, and all delegates will be allowed to use the hotel facilities, including the swimming pool.

Parking

We will have parking available in association with the 3 main hotels. Let us know if you plan to drive to the meeting from outside of Bonifacio.

There are four hotels in the upper town. As you can see on the map below, they are all a short walk from the Espace Saint-Jacques, where the symposia will take place. The first three are high-class hotels that we have block-booked for the symposium.

Hôtel Genovese

You can't use the hotel's online booking form to make reservations since all the rooms have already been reserved. Just send the hotel an email with your preferences, and tell them that you are with the INS2012 group.

• 1 Suite Deluxe with terrace for 3 people maximum - 1 single bed, 1 double bed (290 euros)
• 2 Junior suites with old city view for 1 or 2 persons - king size bed or 2 twin beds. (260 euros)
• 9 Rooms with harbour view for 1 or 2 persons - double bed Queen size (235 euros)
• 3 Standard room patio for 1 or 2 persons - double bed King size or twin beds (215 euros)
Breakfast not included (20 euros per person)

Hôtel Colomba

You can use the hotel's online booking form to make reservations. Just add "INS2012" after your name - the hotel will know what that means.

• 4 twins (145 euros)
• 5 twins (130 euros)
• 1 single (90 euros)
Breakfast included.

Hôtel Santateresa

You can use the hotel's online booking form to make reservations. Just add "INS2012" to the "message" field.

• 1 junior suite for up to 4 people (220 euros)
• 4 junior suites with balcony (220 euros)
• 3 triple Superior rooms (190 euros)
• 1 twin room Superior with balcony (150 euros)
• 6 double or single Superior rooms with balcony (150 euros)
• 10 twin Superior rooms (140 euros)
• 3 double or single Superior rooms (140 euros)
• 2 "standard" with balcony (120 euros)
• 4 "standard" twin room (115 euros)
• 2 "standard" double or single rooms (115 euros)
Breakfast not included (7 euros per person)

Hôtel Royal

14 rooms
• Singles (55 euros)
• Doubles (60-70 euros)

Other possibilities

There are also many other opportunities for accommodation in the town, down by the harbor or further afield. The tourist office provides a tourist "train" to get from the harbor region to the upper town so you don't need to walk up. If you want to stay outside Bonifacio itself (which might be an attractive option for those with families) you would probably need to rent a car. This would not be a major problem, because we have reserved parking close to the conference centre. There are a range of options that include holiday residences, villas, and chalets. If you are interested you can have a look at the brochure and the map provided by the tourist or contact the organizers for advice.

Corsica

Corsica is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of France, and north of the island of Sardinia. Corsica is an island, so obviously your arrival options are either by a ferry or via airport.
The medieval old-town of Bonifacio is the oldest town in Corsica, based above a natural harbour on the site of a 9th century citadel, on a white limestone peninsula, with many of the tall sturdy houses along cobbled streets in a spectacular setting along the top of the cliffs The town is at the southern tip of Corsica (just 12km from Sardinia) which helps give Bonifacio and its harbour a rather exclusive, sophisticated Italian feel - very elegant, with palm trees restaurants lining the quay.

Tourist Office

Bonifacio's tourist office is located at the bottom of Rue Fred-Scamorini in the Old Town.
Telephone: 04 95 73 11 88
Open 09:00-20:00 May to mid October and 09:00-18:00 (closed for lunch) mid October to April.
The tourist office can provide a pass which permits entry to four of the town's historic sights/attractions.

Getting There

By plane

There are four airports on Corsica. Ajaccio, the Campo dell Oro Airport is the biggest followed by Poretta Airport, in Bastia. Calvi and Figari are two minor airports. Corsica is well connected via those airports.

• Bonifacio is approximately 20 km south of Figari airport (Figari-Sud Corse), with transfer options by car, taxi or bus. This is a solution we recommend unless you plan to rent a car. A taxi from Figari to Bonifacio will cost approximately 40-45 euros. There is an intermittent seasonal shuttle bus service from Figari to Bonifacio, costing 8 Euros.
• Ajaccio airport (Campo dell'Oro - AJA) is the largest international airport in Corsica. You can travel to Bonifacio from here (140 km) by getting the shuttle to the Ajaccio bus station and then taking a bus to Bonifacio. There is one bus a day, the journey takes 3 hours, and costs approximately 25-30 euros. Many major rental car companies, like Budget, Hertz and Eurocar operate at Ajaccio Airport. The largest Airline that frequently arrives in Ajaccio is Air France.

To find good options for flights, you might like to try using the SkyScanner website, which can often find good deals involving both low-cost and normal airlines.

By sea

Several ferry companies have regular trips from France or Italy. Because of its proximity to Italy, the port of Bastia handles most of the corsicas maritime traffic. Other ports on the island include Ajaccio, Calvi, Ile-Rousse, Bonifacio and Propriano.

From Sardinia

You can also travel by plane to Sardinia, which has connections from many european airports and then take the ferry from Santa Teresa di Gallura to Bonifacio. There are several daily sailings which take about 50 minutes and cost around €44 for a round trip (Moby Lines or Saremar). Olbia is the closest airport, but Alghero is also a possibility. Details of flights to Olbia can be found here . There is a bus from Olbia airport to Santa Teresa that takes about 90 minutes.

Monday 25th: Get together at the Hotel Genovese

INS2012 participants will be invited to attend the Welcome Reception.

Wednesday 27th: Corsican polyphony concert

There will be a private concert for INS members and their friends at the Eglise Sainte Dominique by the well-known Corsican group Arapà. The group consists of three male singers, who accompany themselves on guitars. Their music is a mixture of traditional Corsican folk music mixed with more contemporary creations. The leader of the group, Jacques Culioli won the 2008 Eurovision Song contest for the minority languages section. For more information, the group has a website. To help cover the costs of the event, we ask people attending the concert to pay ?20 per person.

Thursday 28th afternoon: Boat trip to the Lavezzi islands

The Lavezzi islands are a group of small, barren uninhabited granite islands, 10 km southeast off the coast of Bonifacio, with beautiful shell sand beaches and azure-coloured sea. The boat trip will leave from the port at around 2.30 pm and will visit many of the key sites on the way to the islands. Visitors will have plenty of time on the islands to explore and enjoy the beaches. The crew of the boat can provide diving masks for those who would like to do some snorkeling. On the way back we with have an aperitif with Corsican charcuterie before getting back to Bonifacio sometime between 7 and 7.30 pm.

Friday 29th: Gala banquet

The Gala banquet will take place at the Club-House of the Sperone Golf Club. The site is in a beautiful setting overlooking the sea about 7 km from Bonifacio. There will be two departures by coach from the port to get to the reception. The first will leave shortly after the end of the session at between 7.15 and 7.30 pm. The second will leave at around 7.45 pm for those who would like to go back to their hotels before going out. The dinner will include a wide selection of hors d'oeuvres, fish and meat dishes, as well as a hot course, cheese and a selection of deserts. It will be a buffet, so people with dietary restrictions should not have problems. There will also be a wide range of aperitifs as well as wine and coffee included. There will also be a bar and a wine list for those wanting something more special. A shuttle bus will leave at regular intervals from around 11pm and will take people back to their hotels in the upper part of the town.

For more information on the symposium, please contact Simon Thorpe here.

For conference registration, administrative or technical questions, please contact Nadège Bacon-Macé at the same address.

Some links for your viewing pleasure:

• About Bonifacio
• Bonifacio by Wikipedia
• About Corsica

The Tourism office delivers very nice brochures about the city:

• Bonifacio: Practical guide 2011
• Maps