32 IGC Business Meeting

Date			Meeting	Room
19 August (Thu)	9.00-11.00		1st IGC Steering Committee Meeting	39
20 August (Fri)	9.00-11.00		1st IGC Council Meeting	31
20 August (Fri)	16.30-18.30		Opening Ceremony and 1st IGC General Assembly	1
23 August (Mon)	17.00-18.00		2nd IGC Steering Committee Meeting (if needed)	39
25 August (Wed)	9.00-11.00		2nd IGC Council Meeting (if needed)	34
25 August (Wed)	0.00-18.00		IGC/IUGS Council Meeting (registration starts at 9.00)	34
28 August (Sat)	12.00-13.00		Closing Ceremony 2nd IGC General Assembly (if needed)	1

Appointment of official delegates to the council

In accordance with article 5.7 of the Statutes of the Congress, National Committees and/or appropriate authorities of participating countries will appoint delegates, which will sit for the duration of the Congress, to represent them at the Sessions of the Council of the Congress.
IUGS and ILP Business Meetings
Date			Meeting	Room
17 - 18 August (Tue-Wed) (starts at 9.00)			Executive Committee Meeting	Bologna (Hotel Tre Vecchi)
20 August (Fri)  (directly after IGC Council mtg.)	11:00 - 13:00		IUGS Council Meeting	31
23 August (Mon)	17:30 - 19:30		International Year of Planet Earth Meeting	30
24 August (Tue)	17:30 - 19:30		53rd IUGS Executive Meeting with Affiliated Organizations	14
25 August (Wed)  (Registration starts at 9.00)	10:00 - 18:00		2nd IUGS Council Meeting (IUGS/IGC Council Meeting, if the merger is approved)	34
26 August (Thu)	9:00 - 18:00		2nd IUGS Council Meeting (possible continuation)	31
26 August (Thu)	14:00 - 16:00		IUGS Bureau Meeting	39
26 August (Thu)	17:30 - 19:30		ILP Meeting	39
27 August (Fri)	9:00 - 11:00		IUGS Executive Committee Meeting	39

Important notice: IGC council meeting

According to the present Statutes, there is no permanent membership or organizational structure of the IGC. The Organizing Committee of each session of the Congress looks after the permanent interests of the Congress. A meeting of the Steering Committee is held prior to the first Council meeting. It is presided over by the Presidentof the immediate past session or the President’s representative, who has a casting vote. Usually, the President of the Organizing Committee for the current session chairs the IGC´s business meetings that occur during the session. The agenda for such meetings is prepared by the President and Secretary General in charge, with input from other members of the Steering Committee. The decisions resulting from the Council meetings are then presented to the General Assembly, which comprises all registered members of the session. All members of the General Assembly vote on the issues presented. The Strategic Plan of IUGS, approved in 2000, noted that the IGC is a vital venue for IUGS. In March 2002 the IUGS Executive Committee approved a proposal for the merger of the IUGS and IGC Councils. The envisaged advantages were a clear representation of the geological world by a unified body and a more effective management of both IUGS and IGC. A mid-term IGC Steering Committee meeting held in Florence in 2002 discussed this matter and decided to ask the IGC member countries about their feeling in relation to a better integration of IUGS and IGC: the response was positive. As a consequence the first Council Meeting will deal with an important decision, i.e. a Statutes change including these main points: - the integration of the IGC and the IUGS Councils - the abolition of the General Assembly - the replacement of the IGC Steering Committee with an IGC Committee under the aegis of the IUGS. These changes will also entail changes in the IUGS Statutes. Should the IGC and the IUGS Councils approve those changes, and should the 1st General Assembly ratify the decision, the General Assembly would be dissolved and the 2nd Council Meeting would be a joint IGC-IUGS Council Meeting.

In view of this important task, the National Delegates are warmly requested to arrive in Florence on the 19th of August, in order to present their credentials (a written declaration from their governments, or from their national geological organization/agency) and be accepted as voting members for the 1st IGC Council Meeting that will take place on August 20 at 9,00.

33rd SESSION OF THE CONGRESS At the 31st IGC, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the venue of the 33rd Session was discussed. Egypt, Norway and the United Kingdom submitted invitations to host the 33rd International Geological Congress. This matter has been discussed during the Interim Meeting of the Steering Committee in Florence, October 2002.