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Vol. 29 No. 3
May-June 2007

From the Editor

image of Fabienne MeyersOn the back cover of most issues of CI you will find the Mission Statement of IUPAC. (>online) In less than 100 words, this statement provides a clear reminder to all members and volunteers involved with the organization of what we shall busy ourselves with: “IUPAC provides leadership, facilitation, and encouragement of chemistry and promotes the norms, values, standards, and ethics of science and the free exchange of scientific information.” This may seem like quite a challenge, but everyone can find a niche in which he or she can contribute in some way toward achieving this objective.

IUPAC is also guided by six long-range goals (online at <www.iupac.org/news/archives/2002/strategic-plan.html>) that complement its mission. These goals include providing leadership, facilitating the advancement of research, assisting chemistry-related industry, fostering communication, contributing to the enhancement of chemistry education, and broadening the IUPAC national membership base.

Interestingly, lately I have observed more discussions among IUPAC members about these topics. The purpose of these conversations is not to question the Union’s mission itself, but really to review how IUPAC can improve how it approaches some of these goals, and how its entire constituency can be best involved in accomplishing the mission. A new initiative—a series of round table discussions—will allow Council delegates at the General Assembly in Torino to debate and discuss some of the leading issues concerning IUPAC goals. Four round tables will be organized for no more than 40 participants for each topic, a format conducive to the easy exchanges of ideas.

Even if you are not a Council delegate, you might be interested in reviewing the proposed discussion topics. For this reason, the officers and Bureau members assigned to chair and moderate the discussions have outlined in detail some questions in advance of the event (see page 16). If you would like to comment, please do so by contacting your NAO (see list on the back cover or <www.iupac.org/organ/nao.html>) or by writing to the IUPAC officers directly. The more input, the more valuable the debates will be. As the officers concluded, “It is a relatively easy task to outline the questions, but much more difficult to provide practical answers. It is hoped that the round table discussions will lead to some really good suggestions and plans for future IUPAC activity.”

 

Fabienne Meyers
[email protected]
www.iupac.org/publications/ci

 


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