Dear colleagues: I am sending this message to you as coordinators of the IUFRO Pathology Section 7.02; you can send it to members of your WP or colleagues. The IUFRO World Congress is held every 5 years and is one of the largest forest events and attended by more than 2,000 participants. It brings together an interdisciplinary group of scientists and stakeholders from all parts of the world to discuss scientific and technical issues related to priority areas of forest research, policy and management. Here is the official announcement of the IUFRO World Congress received this week: "We are pleased to inform you that the Invitation Letter of the Congress Organizing Committee <http://www.iufro.org/info//download/file/2924/4303/iwc10-letter-invitation-coc.pdf> and the First Announcement of the XXII IUFRO World Congress <http://www.iufro.org/info//download/file/2925/4303/iwc10-1st-announcement.pdf> to be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, during August 23-28, 2010 are now available for download. The theme of the Congress is "Forests for the Future: Sustaining Society and the Environment". More information on the upcoming IUFRO World Congress is available from the Congress website at http://www.iufro2010.com/ <http://www.iufro2010.com> and the IUFRO website at http://www.iufro.org/ <http://www.iufro.org> ." The goal of this message is to seek your help in organizing sessions where you and your colleagues can share information on current research topics. For the first time, "Forest Health" is being recognized as one of the nine central themes of the Congress. As such, this is a great opportunity for us to showcase the excellent work that is going on in the field of forest pathology. To be successful with our proposals, we have to meet some of the criteria for selection below (you will find the complete information in page 7-8 at First Announcement of the XXII IUFRO World Congress <http://www.iufro.org/info//download/file/2925/4303/iwc10-1st-announcement.pdf> ). If you have an idea for a session, please submit it on-line using the links at http://www.iufro.org/newsletter/iwc10-call-session-proposals and send your proposals as soon as possible even if the deadline is January 15. Congress organizers are allowing session organizers to use their creativity in their selection of formats for sessions including panel discussions, videos, as well as traditional symposia. Sessions will last 2 to 2.5 hours and each speaker should be given at least 15 minutes for their presentation. It may be possible to expand a session into two 2 hour periods. When you prepare your proposal on-line, make sure that you select "D7 Forest Health" as the IUFRO affiliation on the form and to select "Frontiers in Forest and Tree Health" as the Congress sub-theme. Though we ask that you provide a list of speakers in your session, we do not require final confirmation of attendance by speakers at this point. Proposals will be evaluated as they arrive up until 15 January, 2009 so it will be to your advantage to send these in sooner than later. "Criteria for selection. Session proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by members of the Congress Scientific Committee with primary consideration given to their scientific quality, topical significance, and relevance to the Congress themes. Other factors that will be considered are: the involvement of multiple IUFRO units (Divisions, Task Forces, Research Groups and Working Parties) and/or non- IUFRO organizations; geographic and gender diversity of proposed session speakers/presenters; and the involvement of students and young scientists. Proposals will be evaluated as they are received, so we strongly encourage submissions well in advance of the January 15th deadline. Acceptance decisions will be made no later than January 30th, 2009." Sincerely Gaston Laflamme Ressources Naturelles Canada Natural Ressources Canada Service canadien des Forêts Canadian Forest Service Centre de foresterie des Laurentides Laurentian Forestry Centre Groupe ECOBIOM ECOBIOM Team C.P. 10380 Succ. Sainte-Foy, P.O. Box 10380 Stn. Sainte-Foy 1055 rue du P.E.P.S. 1055 P.E.P.S. Str. Québec, QC, Canada G1V 4C7 418-648-4149 fax: 418-648-5849 laflamme(a)rncan.gc.ca