As part of a campaign to promote Japan as venue for international meetings a report was made about our last World Congress on Parasitic Plants in Nara:
The location was almost ideal for a gathering of international researchers on parasitic plants: the green, garden-like setting of the ancient city of Nara. The venue, the fully-equipped Nara Kasugano International Forum, is set in a forested section of beautiful Nara Park (famous for its free-wandering, sacred deer), right next to Todaiji, the temple housing the famous Great Buddha. Taking part in the World Congress on Parasitic Plants (WCPP) were some 140 plant researchers from around the world.
Many reasons for holding the event in Japan, and in Nara. Dr. Damaris Achieng Odeny, a plant geneticist from Kenya, renowned parasitic plant researcher and keynote speaker at the event, gives a good explanation of why this event was held in Japan. “There are many Japanese scientists who are doing great work on parasitic plants,” she says. “So being here and being able to meet all of them is almost like having a field day on parasitic plants for me!” The previous WCPP was held in Nairobi, Kenya, so Dr. Odeny had the opportunity to actually host the conference.
“This is the 17th edition of the WCPP, bringing together scientists who are working on parasitic plants every two years at sites around the world,” says Professor Harro Bouwmeester of the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and president of the International Parasitic Plant Society (IPPS), the organizer of the event. “IPPS is the organization behind this, and we are indeed the organizers of these world congresses on parasitic plants, but we look for a venue, a location, and for volunteers. In this case, Professor Satoko Yoshida of the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) was the main organizer. She is one of the researchers excelling in the field of parasitic plants. We discussed with her about the dates, and the scientific content, but in principle she independently organized this meeting, along with the help of colleagues in Japan. The planning all started two years ago at the WCPP in Nairobi. During that meeting, we were preparing for the next venue. Considering the rotation of locations, we felt that it was time to go to Asia again. I talked with a couple of the Japanese participants in Nairobi, including Professor Yoshida. They liked the idea, and immediately started exchanging messages with Japanese who weren’t present. At that meeting–and within a couple of days–they had decided that they were willing to do it.” “I guess they anticipated already we would ask!” he says “I know Japan and expected the venue would be nice but was still happily surprised arriving here in Nara. It’s really a nice little town, easily accessible, and with lots of green. This was their suggestion, and I think that worked out fantastically.”
Professor Yoshida emphasized the importance of cooperation within the IPPS community for the success of the conference. “Because we worked closely with and had good communications with the president and vice president of the IPPS, we were able to hold the event with a sense of unity,” she said. “It was also a positive thing for me as a researcher to be able to take the lead in organizing the program, such as selecting topics and speakers, and connecting with various researchers who are doing cutting-edge science or field work on parasitic plants.”
See here for the full report