Dear colleague:
As you may be aware, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will be holding its annual meeting next year in Vancouver from February 16 to 20, 2012. The AAAS meeting is the largest gathering of its kind in the world. This will be the first time that it has been held in Canada in more than 30 years.
We believe that the Vancouver meeting presents an exceptional opportunity for the Canadian research community to meet across all disciplines, showcase Canada's research and innovation, and place the themes and issues that resonate strongly in this country on the agenda.
The theme chosen for the 2012 meeting, "Flattening the World: Building the 21st Century Global Knowledge Society," reflects the AAAS's desire to reach out and engage international dialogue and collaboration for solutions to the global challenges we face.
We would like to encourage you to propose symposia and speakers for the Vancouver meeting.
The AAAS Annual Meeting Scientific Program Committee is particularly interested in proposals that highlight the theme and focus on solutions to global challenges. Proposals that are not directly related to the theme will also be considered if they involve ground-breaking areas of research, new and exciting developments, or cross-cutting activities in support of science, technology and education.
Proposals that include speakers from a broad range of disciplines, institutions and nations, representing the diversity of science and society, are particularly welcomed by the AAAS.
Proposals must be submitted on-line at www.aaas.org/meetings/2012/program/symposia/submit/ by April 26.
We would also be delighted to hear any ideas or thoughts you might have about the meeting or about any plans you are making for it.
Sincerely,
Alain Beaudet, M.D., PhD
President
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Suzanne Fortier, B.SC., PhD
President
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Chad Gaffield, PhD, FRSC
President
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada