“We ran for the World Chemical Congress two years ago already, unfortunately unsuccessfully. I am very pleased that we successfully presented the winning proposal this year, beating the competing destinations, which were the Asian cities of Chengdu and Taipei, and Düsseldorf in Germany. I believe that in 2029 we will present an interesting congress program, the main topic of which should be “Frontiers in Chemistry: For the Harmony of Civilization with Nature”, and which will build on the long and famous scientific research tradition of Czech and Slovak chemistry,” says prof. Dr. RNDr. Pavel Matějka, Chairman of the congress and Rector of the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague.
“The main topic and title of the congress point to the fact that today’s civilization cannot exist without the products of chemical production. However, for the sake of sustainability, it is necessary to diminish the negative effects that production and its outputs have on nature and on the natural processes,” adds prof. Jiří Vohlídal from Charles University, currently the Chairman of the Czech Chemical Society, adding: “In addition to this focus, the proposal includes a special symposium on electrochemistry to celebrate symbolically the 70th anniversary of prof. Jaroslav Heyrovský’s Nobel Prize as part of the congress.”
However, the Prague edition of the congress, which will take place at the Prague Congress Centre, will not only be exceptional for its connection to important personalities of Czech science. For the first time in the history of this event, the winning proposal for organizing the congress was submitted jointly by two national chemical societies – the Czech and the Slovak.
“The joint candidacy of the Czech and Slovak Chemical Societies was one of the strengths of the proposal. This uniqueness resulted from the common history and tradition of chemistry in the once unified country. Cooperation between the two countries has been maintained to this day, at various levels, from informal collaboration and national support of joint projects to regular joint conferences in individual fields of chemistry, through organizing umbrella chemistry congresses and, last but not least, organizing such important events as the International Chemistry Olympiad. That is why I am extremely pleased that thanks to winning this prestigious congress, we have the opportunity to jointly present the strong position of chemistry in our countries,” adds prof. Igor Lacík from the Institute of Polymers of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava, Vice-Chairman of the Congress and representative of the Slovak Chemical Society.
Professor Lacík has been engaged at IUPAC for a long time and will be President of the Union’s Polymer Division from 2024 to 2027, and a member of the IUPAC Scientific Council between 2024 and 2025.
“At the same time, chemical processes are one of the strategic fields that the City of Prague focuses on in its Regional Innovation Strategy – RIS 3. It identifies sectors in which Prague has a comparative advantage over other destinations and in which it produces results with high added value. Obtaining this congress means not only an immediate economic benefit for Prague in the form of the stay of 4,000 delegates for the entire week of the congress, but especially an influx of global know-how in the field, which in the long term will help to the strategic direction and future development of the metropolis. All this contributes to the internationalization of Czech and Slovak science and the application of research results in practice, which subsequently benefits the general public,” adds Ing. Michaela Smetanová, Senior Manager – Business Events at Prague Convention Bureau, who participated in presenting the congress offer of Prague and the overall implementation and organizational aspects of the proposal as part of the candidacy.
The candidacy for the World Chemical Congress was carried out with the support of the City of Prague, the CzechTourism / Czech Convention Bureau and C-IN, which, among other things, created a video clip for the candidacy inviting world personalities of chemistry to Prague for the World Chemical Congress in 2029.
For more information visit https://www.pragueconvention.cz/.
