Skeptic: Extraordinary Claims, Revolutionary Ideas, and the Promotion of Science

World Summit on Evolution:
Defining the context and the topics
for the 21st century

What

The Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) is pleased to announce a meeting on Evolution with the broadest thematic focus that the world has seen in recent decades. The four-day meeting for scientists on June 9-12, 2005, will be held on the Galapagos archipelago, the same islands that helped spark Darwin’s revolutionary ideas that changed how we view the Earth and ourselves. Through a series of presentations and discussions, the world’s outstanding leaders in evolution will be brought face-to-face to share their insights on evidence for this theory and to discuss future research horizons.

Why

Evolution is one of the most important paradigms in Science, impacting our very understanding of the world around us. The Galapagos Islands will host the greatest gathering of specialists to revisit the central theme of evolutionary biology.

Goals—The Summit Will:

1. Unite experts in the distinct branches of evolutionary science to discuss the impact of recent findings of genomics, evolutionary-development and other fields and to think about how to integrate them into the basic concepts of evolution;
2. Bring together a truly international group of scientists to debate evolution in a culturally and intellectually rich setting;
3. Discuss contributions and evidence of each branch of evolutionary science;
4. Rethink where our ideas of evolution have been, where the are now, and to help make the decisions as to where the field of evolutionary science should head in the future;
5. Publish proceedings of the state-of-the-art understanding of evolution in the 21st century;
6. Remind the scientific community about the importance of the Galapagos Islands and the discoveries that were born of their abundant resources. This gathering will promote the Galapagos Islands as a dynamic, living laboratory;
7. Promote Ecuador, its scientists and the country’s educational institutions that work for the promotion of scientific understanding;
8. Increase cooperation between Ecuadorian universities and their counterparts abroad and celebrate the founding of the GAIAS and further its academic mission;
9. Bring a state-of-the-art understanding of science to Ecuadorian teachers and their classrooms at all academic levels.

Sponsors

The Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) established the Galapagos Academic Institute for the Arts and Sciences (GAIAS) in 2002 and is the main sponsor of the event along with private Ecuadorian businesses, research and academic institutions in the United States, and the US National Science Foundation.

Participants

The conference will be limited to 150 international participants so that a diverse and qualified assembly will be assured. Leading researchers, theoreticians and graduate students in evolutionary biology will attend:

• Unite experts in the distinct branches of evolutionary science to discuss the impact of recent findings of genomics, evolutionary-development and other fields and to think about how to integrate them into the basic concepts of evolution;
• 150 international scientists
• 50 national scientists
• 24 graduate students
• 5,000 Ecuadorian secondary students who will participate in debate, discussion and exchange of ideas in workshops held at the University during the pre-conference series
• Members of the Press

Cost

The estimated cost of The World Summit on Evolution is $800, plus airfare and the Registration fee of $150 for participants and $50 for students.