Alun SaltIs it possible to follow a conference at a distance? Here is a Storify for the 18th International Botanical Conference in Melbourne.
It would help to explain what #IBC18 is. The Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne have a page. Also @dentay85 found a post by a magnificent blog that would never stoop so low as to flatter itself with self-praise.
| “ | The eighteenth International Botanical Congress (IBC) will be held in Melbourne from 23–30 July 2011. The IBC2011 website contains information about the scientific program, field trips and congress venues. | ||
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| “ | International Botanical Congress 18 Melbourne #IBC18: This week, a good proportion of the world’s botanists will… http://bit.ly/qV93an | |||
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You can follow the official account @IBC11. There’s also a Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/ibc2011 and a website at http://www.ibc2011.com/ . Slightly confusingly the hashtag is #IBC18
| “ | @celmisia The International Botanical Congress willl be using #ibc18 to avoid a hastag conflict with another event. | |||
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Not content with hosting IBC 2011 in God’s own country (Kiwis may disagree), the congress opened with an impressive ceremony.
| “ | #ibc18 Opening Ceremony at the Melbourne Convention Centre. Welcome to Country. Welcome Address by Judy West, outlining programme for week. | |||
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Photo by chrisfreeland2002 on flickr
| “ | Nat’l anthem, indigenous dancing and a grassland blooming on the stage #ibc18 opening ceremony has it all. Sand artist now. Wow! | |||
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Photo by Gardenboi on twitter
| “ | #ibc18 opening ceremony, past president from Vienna Congress, Tod Steussy addressing the delegates | |||
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| “ | Todd Stuessy, organized of IBC17 in Vienna notes he’s be enjoying this conference a lot more than the last! #ibc18 | |||
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Photo by chrisfreeland2002 on flickr
| “ | #ibc18 Opening Ceremony. Video introducing Australian of the Year, Simon McKeon. Simon now speaking. | |||
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| “ | RT S McKeon, Australian of year 2011, "Never before has botany been so needed" Botany is pervasive to all the problems of the world #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Simon: "botany not served well by the popular media" #ibc18 opening ceremony. | |||
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| “ | @Jim_Croft Brian Cox on "Wonders of the Universe" last Thu night was dismissive of Botany as a science. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Japanese drumming and tap dancing finale for #ibc18 ceremony. Extraordinary! | |||
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Photo by chrisfreeland on twitter
It’s quite possible that I got the sequence of events for the opening ceremony wrong, but it’s already been a busy conference even before the official opening.
| “ | Nomenclature dinner at University House. This is what 121 plant taxonomists look like! #ibc18 http://t.co/Wmfs3Nu | |||
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| “ | Great fun at the Nomenclature Section dinner tonight: roomful of botanists partying like ’twas 1753. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | @IBC11: roomful of botanists partying like ’twas 1753. #ibc18 <= so, there was Linne dancing? 🙂 | |||
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It sounds like the debate was lengthy and detailed. Here’s a taste, but I can’t pretend to have followed it from afar.
| “ | In 1539 the Church of England saw Latin as a barrier to understanding, now botanists catch up – http://bit.ly/mSfCv0 #ibc18 #latin #botany | ||
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| “ | I have heard the language for descriptions may be changed Latin to "Latin or English" in Melbourne. I NEVER agree. Use Latin! #ibc18 #icbn | |||
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| “ | Those who set their mind on taxonomy should learn even Latin. How will you read past enormous descriptions, and name a new creature? #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Debate currently about whether to define para-homonyms in Art. 53 #ibc18 nomenclature | |||
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| “ | Proposal to alter gender treatment of -ites names, Art.62.4, not passed. Lunch and then we go on… #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Two special committees established. One for bylaws to run nomenclature section another for institutional voting system.#ibc18 | |||
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| “ | A proposal to require registration of plant names (in addition to fungi, for which this was previously approved) was soundly rejected.#ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Rightly so. We now have 6 yrs to build a workable system. MT @danieljmurf: proposal to require registration of plant names rejected. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | And it is OVER (the Nomenclature) after a mammoth session of floor proposals and yet to begin (the Congress). Exciting! #ibc18 | |||
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The congress continues and it looks like there’ll be a lot happening. If, for some bizarre reason, you can only follow one account then the IBC has its own media-friendly tweeting account.
| “ | Get your prog and abstract books while they’re hot: http://bit.ly/oQCgn9 and http://bit.ly/r6aB12 #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | We are tweeting from #IBC18 all week – from feeding the world, to the mysteries of lichen, to sunflowers making drugs. http://bit.ly/oagpSO | |||
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Editor Pat Heslop-Harrison