Li Hao
SHENZHEN is to play host to the 19th International Botanical Congress (IBC) in 2017, according to the first meeting of the event organizing committee last week.
The IBC is a large-scale meeting of botanists in all scientific fields from all over the world.
It will not only be the first time for the IBC to be held in China, but also the first time for the congress to be held in a developing country.
Around 6,000 people were expected to attend the event to exchange views and hold discussions concerning all the issues of the plant sciences, according to the organizers.
The event will be organized by the city government and the Botanical Society of China (BSC), involving a number of government departments.
The organizing committee is scheduled to attend the 18th IBC in Melbourne, Australia, between July 23 and 30 to promote the Shenzhen event.
The IBC would gather the most influential botanical professionals in Shenzhen, which is another feather in the cap of the city s international profile, said the organizers.
In addition, Shenzhen was expected to gain a better understanding of the state-of-the-art sciences through the academic exchanges at the IBC.
Shenzhen submitted the bid to host the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS), which authorizes the IBC, on Aug. 30, 2009.
The IABMS sent representatives to Shenzhen in May last year to inspect the city s infrastructure, granting Shenzhen the hosting right in September last year, according to the organizing committee.
Founded in Paris in 1900, the IBC is held every six years, in which the IABMS holds elections for its leading positions.
The IABMS is chaired by Meredith Blackwell, a mycologist at Louisiana State University in the United States.
The last IBC was held in Austria s Vienna in 2005, attracting 4,200 people.
