BioEssays Vol. 9, Nos 2 & 3 - August-September 1988 101

On The Future of Congresses: Can We Afford Them? David B. Walden

This issue of Bioessays has been de- signed for distribution to coincide with the IVth International Congress of Cell Biology and the XVIth International Congress of Genetics. Both Congresses will convene in Canada - Cell Biology in Montreal, 1419 August, and Genetics in Toronto, 20-27 August. Clearly 1988 is Canada’s ‘Olympic’ year!

International Congresses are not easy to organize. Lead time ( 5 years or more) to book facilities ; up-front, pre-regis- tration funds (20-30y0 of the total budget) ; and programme organization (1 8-24 months ahead) are but three of the areas requiring attention. Behind these foci and in fact the entire budget, is the responsibility to generate Con- gress revenue that will lead to at least a balanced budget. Both Congresses have had the benefit of the extensive ex- perience of the Office of Conference Services of the National Research Coun- cil of Canada. Such professional re- source management helps ensure suc- cessful Congresses.

The scientific programme must remain the responsibility of the dis- cipline. Congresses have traditionally been called to provide the twin op- portunities for the presentation of re- search and visiting with colleagues.

These functions clearly shall con-

tinue. Currently planning uses an in- crement of 1.5 to estimate the number of registrants (including 10 % walk- ons) from the number of abstracts submitted (if limited to one abstract per senior author). However, the regis- tration fee must necessarily be set prior to any data being available - and there- fore is a considered guess that one hopes will lead to a balanced financial report.

The net result, as pointed out recently by others, is that we are heading to higher registration fees and possibly denying opportunities to some to par- ticipate in a Congress. While I doubt that marked reductions are possible in the registration fees without far larger sponsorship of the Congress, at least two possibilities need to be examined for future Congresses. Firstly, more funds (from non-registration sources) are required to offer bursaries in areas of need. As a beginning in this direction, the Genetics Congress, through assis- tance from The Canadian International Development Agency and other sources has offered approximately 400 Canada Bursaries and Congress Scholarships. Compiled with support generated by the Genetics Society of America, the Genetics Society of Canada and specific sponsorships, approximately 15 yo of the registrants at the Genetics Congress

will have sufficient subsidization to permit them to attend and participate. A realistic target for the next Congress would be 25 yo.

Secondly, there is an increasingly large group of discipline-oriented speci- alists whose major responsibility is teaching their subject. These teachers would benefit from attendance at the Congress in much the same way that students benefit - that is, the Congress is the best ‘mini-course’ that could be attended. Colleges, Universities, and yes - even secondary-school teachers - should be encouraged to register at future Congresses. Again, bursaries and scholarships from the home adminis- tration offer a way for teachers-without- research-grants to participate.

The excitement and honour of pre- senting a paper at a Congress will continue. Our task is to increase the accessibility to enable us to be truly international as our disciplines mature and new places open for young scien- tists.

D. B. WALDEN, Secretary General, XVIth International Congress of Genetics, Conseil National de Rechercher du Canada, Oiiawa, Onrario, Canada K I A OR6

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WHAT’S NEWfSCIENCE AND SOCIETY

BioEssays welcomes contributions for the Features’ columns ‘What’s New’ and ‘Science and Society’. Articles run in ‘What’s New’ describe recent technical advances in molecular and cellular biology of potentially widespread interest. ‘Science and Society’ features discuss the current ethical, social and legal issues raised by the new biology. Contributions from readers for either of these feature columns will be considered. Articles should be submitted to the Staff Editor, Dr Adam S. Wilkins, Cambridge University Press, Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Rd., Cambridge CB2 2RU, United Kingdom.