VISITING IUFRO HEADQUARTERS IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA

After participating in European Bioeconomy Scientific Forum 2023 in Austria, IFSA delegates had a chance to visit the International Union of Forest Research Organizations  (IUFRO) Headquarters on Friday, 8 September 2023 in Vienna. It was a nice afternoon, we met Alexander Buck as an IUFRO Executive Director, Janice Burns as a Thematic Networking Manager IUFRO-SPDC Deputy Coordinator, and Eva Schimpf as a Project Management and Translation Services.

It is an intriguing fact that IUFRO is IFSA’s oldest formal partner. IFSA and IUFRO have had countless collaborations  almost 22 years since The first Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2002. Furthermore in 2019 during IUFRO World Congress in Brazil, the partnership was  successfully renewed. Having a vision “a world that appreciates forest” and mission to enrich IFSA’s member education through international events and networking, it is aligned with IUFRO’s vision to promote a Sustainable Future of Forests and Society by knowledge sharing and fostering the development of science-based solutions. IFSA members have privileged access to an exclusive internship with IUFRO every year, work together in the official IFSA-IUFRO Task-Force on Forest Education, and take part in any IUFRO events. Moreover, recently IFSA and IUFRO just published an engaging book “Building a Successful Forestry Career in Africa ”, it provides insights into exciting forestry career opportunities in Africa beyond the forests.

During the meeting, we discussed the IFSA-IUFRO work plan, any possibilities to have new collaboration events with IUFRO, and the preparation of IUFRO World Congress 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden. The IUFRO World Congress is one of the largest global forest events which is held at 5 years intervals and attended by scientists and stakeholders from all parts of the world to discuss issues related to forest research, forest policy, and forest management. IUFRO invites IFSA for initiating fruitful agendas for student during the congress and IFSA has arranged participation plan such as IFSA Sub-Plenary Session, IFSA Technical Session, IUFRO-IFSA JTF Sessions, IFSA Booth, Incubator Session, Green Job Arena, Pre Event for Mentorship, and Mentorship Program.

All of these opportunities working with IUFRO supports IFSA members to gain skilful experiences and scale up the soft skill for later work engagement in the future. Are you curious about IFSA ‘s Agenda in IUFRO World Congress 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden? Stay tuned on IFSA’s social media! ☺

ERLITA SAVITRI

IUFRO COMMISSIONER