Dear EWRS members,

I am happy to notice that you found your way to the members-only section of the EWRS web site. Choosing and using this part of the site you will find information directed to the membership only, just to mention facilities to download various administrative Reports and “Find members” database. Take a quick look at “My account/My profile” to check that your own contact information is up-to-date.  Please notice to scroll down the Home page to find much useful information below the front page illustration. The content of the site will be dynamic, for instance some older EWRS material will be uploaded during this year.

The EWRS carefully follows and adjusts the activities of the Society in the current harsh COVID-19 crisis. The ExCom Meeting in Ede/Wageningen on 12th March was very last-minute gathering before severe travel restrictions and quarantine measures. Since then, as already announced, all EWRS Meetings and Workshops planned for the first half of 2020 have been postponed. Instead, Skype meetings will be organized (SciCom) and WG-coordinators wait for appropriate moments to announce new dates for planned Workshops. The current optimistic plan is to organize both the EWRS Board Meeting and the General Assembly in Prague in early September.

In late March, you all should have received a personal email from our contact person in Wiley, Elena Rodríguez Gay. In this message they provide you with information how to get access to the journal Weed Research at Wiley Online Library. Please register and sign up to the content alerts for each new journal issues. Recently, the EWRS Board has discussed about moving to online-only version of Weed Research, partly because of economic reasons but also addressing environmentally sustainable delivery of information.

Luckily, the EWRS Symposium in Athens will not be organized this summer but it will take place from 21st to 24th June 2021. The Local Organizing Committee, chaired by Demosthenis Chachalis, is ready to serve you with any information that you might need. The content and quality of scientific program will be very much dependent on your contributions. The Program Committee, chaired by Josef Soukup, eagerly waits for your Abstracts which can be uploaded from September onwards. Another good reason to keep in touch with Josef Soukup and Husrev Mennan is that they are seeking motivated people to join in the Session Organizer Team. To keep yourself up-to-date please follow announcements in the EWRS web site as well as in the specific Symposium web site available at www.ewrs2021.org. You will also receive the 1st Symposium Circular soon.

Although it is to some extent inconsistent with the current epidemic situation among the people in the world, I would like to remind you that the United Nations has declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH). For instance EFSA has launched a dedicated web site aiming at raising awareness about plant health in Europe and beyond, contributing to the efforts lead by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Moreover, the first International Plant Health Conference is planned to be convened in Helsinki on 5-8 October 2020 on the theme “Protecting Plant Health in a Changing World”. Hosted by the government of Finland, the Conference will be one of the key events of the International Year of Plant Health. I find the EWRS as key player in plant health issues, so let’s be active at national level as well as in international events.  

Please bookmark the EWRS web site on your browser and join our channels in social media. Our energetic Communication Team Camilla and Sabine are happy to hear from you and announce any interesting News and Events, just let them know and give feedback!

Many of us are now obliged to work at home but the sun has not set on weeds. I wish you all the best with your research efforts during the growing season 2020! I hope that a mood of optimism still remains among the membership. 

Happy Easter!

Jukka

(8th April 2020)