Hello FORENT colleagues, Good news - in celebration of the inauguration of Barack Obama, IUFRO has extended the deadline for submission of World Congress session proposals to Feb. 1. Just kidding - the deadline HAS BEEN extended to Feb. 1 but the reason is because of the conflict with the busy holiday season. Thus, I would encourage all of you (students included!) to consider submitting a proposal for a session, following the instructions below. You need not solicit speakers to submit a proposal - all you really need is an idea! -Sandy I'd like to encourage you to submit a proposal for a scientific session at the XXIII IUFRO World Congress, ?Forests for the Future: Sustaining Society and the Environment?, Seoul, Korea - 23 - 28 August, 2010. (web: http://www.iufro2010.com ) The IUFRO World Congress is held every 5 years and is one of the largest global forest events 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. Plans are being made to hold the next IUFRO Congress in 2010 in Korea and I can personally tell you that a very strong effort is being made to elevate the strength of the scientific content at the Congress. Specifically, we are seeking to turn the 2010 Congress into an important event for sharing cutting-edge research results and sharing information on critical scientific issues with the forestry community at large. As such, we are seeking your help in organizing sessions where you and your colleagues can share information on current research topics. Many of you attended the recent Entomology Congress in Durban, South Africa and were able to participate what I think was an exceptional selection of scientific sessions focusing on various aspects of forest insect research. We would like build on our success in Durban by putting together a program of symposia and other sessions that focus on forest entomology topics, as well as other cross-disciplinary fields with other forest science disciplines. Those of you that have attended IUFRO Congresses in the past know that even though we've had some great sessions in past Congresses, the forest health issue has never been recognized as a core area in organizing the program. However, 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 entomology. 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 . 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. Proposals will be accepted from all . You do not need to be from an institution that is a member of IUFRO either to attend the Congress or to submit a proposal. Graduate students may also submit proposals. One other thing worth mentioning is that in that past, the IUFRO Special Programme for Developing Countries has provided funds to cover some or all of the travel expenses for scientists from countries with developing economies to attend IUFRO Congresses, and I expect this program to be similarly applied to the 2010 Congress. Let me know if you have any questions. -Sandy ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew Liebhold 304-285-1512 Northern Research Station 304-285-1505 FAX USDA Forest Service 724-317-8668 mobile 180 Canfield St. aliebhold(a)fs.fed.us Morgantown, WV26505 USA http://sandyliebhold.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------