Dear Colleagues,

This question will be addressed during our upcoming 7th International Science Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Change, “Social Challenges of Global Change”, also known as the IHDP Open Meeting 2009.

WHO? More than 1000 researchers, decision makers and representatives from the private and the third sectors will gather in Bonn in three weeks to debate significant topics such as the social and the economic impacts of global change and the urgent need to foster the link between science and policy making.

WHERE? The conference, the biggest UN conference in Germany, is organized by the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (United Nations University) and will take place in Bonn on 26-30 April, 2009.

MEDIA TABLE ON ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING: One of my favorite scheduled events is the round table “Catastrophe Sells”, about the media coverage of environmental news, on Tuesday, 28 April. This round table will be moderated by Deutsche Welle’s Irene Quaile and will have as panelists top scientists such as Walter Ammann (Davos Forum), Ortwin Renn (Director of DialogiK), and Richard Klein, of the Stockholm Resilience Center. BBC World James Painter will also participate, as well as Stefan Krug, the Spokesperson of Greenpace Germany.

SINKING ISLANDS: Another interesting public event will be the high-level panel about the future of Small-Island States vis-a-vis Climate Change and the round tables about Global Change and Human Health.

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?: The conference is free for journalists! You can get your free press accreditation or schedule interviews with our keynote speakers by sending me an email to litre@ihdp.unu.edu We are very happy to have Nature On Line among the already registered journalists!

MORE INFORMATION? If you are interested in taking a look at the conference programme, list of keynote speakers, and revealing statistics about the participants, please visit the conference’s website

For more information about the organizer, and its social sciences contributions to the IPCC reports, please visit the IHDP website

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at litre@ihdp.unu.edu

I am looking forward to seeing you in Bonn next month!

Best Regards,

Gabriela
Communications Manager
UNU-IHDP
Bonn, Germany
www.ihdp.org
www.openmeeting2009.org