As Director of IUMS, Rino Rappuoli is seeking input from authors and microbiology organizations regarding the best ways IUMS can function as a voice for microbiologists.
The plan is for the 2024 IUMS conference (Florence, Italy, October 23-25) to focus on the importance of preserving microbial diversity. As a prequel, Rino and colleagues recently published Save the Microbes to Save the Planet.
As you know, the AAM/ASM recently took over the Microbiologists’ Warning website, providing dimension to their efforts to highlight the roles of microbes in climate change.
The original Consensus Statement has stimulated a broad range of initiatives – just two examples being the AAM/ASM Colloquium publication Microbes and Climate Change - Science, People & Impacts in 2022, and the aforementioned call to action of the IUMS in 2023, Save the Microbes to Save the Planet. I’m sure you know of others.
We would greatly appreciate your input on progressive ways IUMS can function to facilitate action:
- How can IUMS empower your efforts (as individuals or organizations)?
- Should the IUMS Florence conference run a workshop that involves representation from global organizations that must graft microbes into their action plans (e.g., United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, WHO).
- Should a new Consensus Statement be the outcome of the conference – if not, what is the strongest outcome you envisage?
- What features of IUMS structure and website would best help in providing added dimension to your initiatives (as individuals or organizations):
- Showcase international core themes of microbiological Societies and provide links to core publications illustrating those themes?
- Structure an IUMS Advisory Board to advise on core themes?
- Facilitate cross-Society communication (e.g., at the very least, up to date contact details)?
