Suzhou, China, 5-9 July 2012

The International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) will hold its 31st General Assembly (GA) 5-9 July 2012 in Suzhou, China. The co-hosts are the Bureau of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China, the Bureau of International Cooperation, CAS, China, and the Department of International Affairs, China Association for Science and Technology, China. The theme of the conference is “Promoting Biological Sciences for a Better Life”.

The IUBS was founded in 1919 and it is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that serves as an umbrella organization for a large number of scientific organizations. Currently, there are 44 ordinary members and 80 scientific members. The GA convenes every three years whereat, decisions on the priorities of the IUBS are made, recommendations to the scientific committee are put forward, and elections of executive committee (EC) members and administrative officers are held.

The IUBS is the only international body that covers all disciplines of biological sciences. As a result, the IUBS will also host and organise international symposia in tandem with the GA so as to provide an opportunity for the international biological community to exchange information, discuss interdisciplinary studies, and promote international collaboration in scientific research programs.

In the 21st century, particularly in recent years, biological sciences and biotechnologies have played key roles in shaping the world’s economy. Bioindustry is also emerging as a new driving force of the world’s economic growth and recovery, especially after the recent world financial crisis. To a greater extent, the development of bioindustry is bringing new hope to initiatives in food safety, clean energy and healthy environments. With these circumstances in mind, the IUBS, during this GA, will endeavor to promote collaborations between institutions, companies and scientists, and to push forward the development of bioindustry and bioeconomy by organizing special sessions on bioindustry.

On behalf of the hosts and the organizing committee, we warmly invite you to attend this important international conference. We hope that through your participation, we can not only exchange information and discuss interdisciplinary studies, but also begin or extend collaborations in scientific research programs and bioindustry development so that we can work together to realise the theme of the conference and also the mission of the IUBS: “Promoting Biological Sciences for a Better Life.” We believe that this international event will be a defining moment in IUBS history, as well as for the world of biological sciences and bioindustry.

For further information, please visit the Conference official website:

http://iubs.csp.escience.cn

Contacts

For GA: Dr. Nathalie Fomproix (English, French; nfomproix@iubs.org) 

For Symposia: Dr. Wenhua Xiong (English and Chinese; iszs@ioz.ac.cn))

For Sessions for Bioindustry:Dr. Chunxu Han (English and Chinese;iszs2@ioz.ac.cn)

For Sponsorship: Dr. Chunxu Han (English and Chinese; iszs2@ioz.ac.cn)

Address:　  C-506, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District,

Beijing 100101, China