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PROJECT #2003-07
The 1st International Young Scientists' Global Change Conference

A representative of APN, Dr. Linda Stevenson (Programme Manager, APN Secretariat), was funded by APN directly.

Brief introduction and background:
The 1st International Young Scientists' Global Change Conference, the aims of which were to stimulate competition, encourage excellence, reward outstanding performance, encourage the development of personal and institutional networks, and at the same time indulge in high-level capacity building among young scientists from both developed and developing countries, was hosted by the Third World Academy of Sciences in Trieste, Italy from 16-19 November, 2003.

The endeavour stemmed from the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) Open Science Conference on Global Change held in Amsterdam in July 2001, when the ESSP, comprising the International Biodiversity Research Programme (DIVERSITAS), the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP),asked the SysTem for Analysis Research and Training (START) to organize a high-level international conference for young scientists 35 years old and younger. The event was also co-sponsored by the APN, the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS), and the National Science Foundation/US Climate Change Science Program (NSF/USCCSP).

An organizing committee comprising three young scientists, Kristy Ross of South Africa, Rita Pongracz of Hungary and Jasper Grosskurth of The Netherlands, together with Professor Roland Fuchs and Amy Freise of START, planned the conference under the Chairmanship of Professor Peter Tyson.

Outline of activities conducted:
There were fifty-one, 15-minute oral paper presentations and thirty-one, 2-minute oral poster presentations conducted by young scientists. Additionally, posters were available for viewing during the first two days of the Conference.

Paper and poster presentations were divided into fourteen sessions spread over the three-day Conference. Presentations were arranged thematically, and keynote speeches by senior scientists were presented in between sessions.

Two panels of judges, composed of senior scientists, judged the presentations; one panel for paper and one for poster presentations. At the gala dinner, which culminated the Conference, one paper received the Paul Crutzen Award, three other papers received honorable mentions, one poster won the Best Poster Award, and three other posters received honorable mentions.

Outcomes and products:
As the Conference was a forum for encouraging the development of young scientists, one of the major outcomes was an assemblage of talented, enthusiastic young scholars from around the world to provide a basis for the development of intra- and inter-regional research activities. Senior scientists, including leaders of the Core Projects, who chaired the various conference sessions, are working with the young scientists to prepare their papers for submission to international journals.

A conference booklet, inclusive of the presented abstracts, was also prepared, printed and distributed through the participants, and a wider global change research community.

Prof. Paul Crutzen, Nobel Laureate, conferred the award for the best paper, known as the Paul Crutzen Award.

A multi-media CDROM comprising paper abstracts, PowerPoint presentations of the papers and visual images of the posters will be produced and distributed to the participants, funders, and institutions as well as offices involved in various aspects of global change research and projects.

Future directions and follow-up work:
The 1st International Young Scientists' Global Change Conference was a great success. Currently, a list of participants as well as the top 600 applicants is being edited in order to develop it into a coherent database of young scientists around the world. The database will be distributed to the global change research community in all regions.

START is very appreciative of the support it received from APN for the 1st International Young Scientists' Global Change Conference.