Future Hosting
The International Association of Biological Oceanography (IABO) has determined that the 6th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity will be held in Penang, Malaysia, in 2023, hosted by the Centre for Marine & Coastal Studies (CEMACS) of Universiti Sains Malaysian (USM).
The bid proposal can be downloaded here.
In addition, it has selected Ghent, Belgium to be the venue of the 7th WCMB in 2026, being hosted by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ).
More information on this event can be downloaded here.
Details of the call and evaluation of bids to host future WCMB are below.
Call for future World Conferences on Marine Biodiversity
We here call for bids to host the 2023 and 2026, 6th and 7th World Conferences on Marine Biodiversity (WCMB). Bids must be submitted by 1st March 2020 to the conference email: wcmb2020@auckland.ac.nz
Bids should contain:
- Lead scientific convenors and scientific committee members (names, institution, country)
- Venue – capability for 700 delegates and 4-8 parallel sessions
- Proposed registration fee and any sponsorship obtained to minimise it
Bids will be evaluated by a committee of the International Association of Biological Oceanography. The committee will consider the quality and comprehensiveness of bids, and how they complement the geographic locations of previous WCMB locations as follows:
| Proposed Venue and dates | Outline proposed venue including country/city information (e.g. surrounding area, transport links, range of accommodation styles/prices) as well as conference venue capacity, flexibility, etc. Please include a justification of why the conference should come to this country/region. | /35 |
| Committee structure | Scientific convenors, local and proposed scientific committee including information about previous conference experience. | /20 |
| Progression | How will the conference build on the previous conferences? E.g. themes, outreach, link with local organisations. | /10 |
| Financial Plan | Please provide an outline budget and information re underwriting the event. Please include indicative registration fees. Do you intend to offer funding to encourage participation from delegates based in developing countries? | /25 |
| Innovations | Detail any proposed innovative elements of the event. | /10 |
The last winning bid can be downloaded here
Previous WCMB were held in Montreal, Canada in 2018; Qingdao, China; Aberdeen, Scotland; and Valencia, Spain.
WCMB 2020 Virtual Conference | 13-15 December 2020
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