|
Vol.
29 No. 3
May-June 2007
From
the Editor
On
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
Page
last modified 15 June 2007.
Copyright © 2003-2007 International Union of Pure and
Applied Chemistry.
Questions regarding the website, please contact [email protected]
|