This award provides travel stipends to enable scholars to attend the Second World Congress on Risk. These stipends go to junior faculty or researchers, and to scholars from developing countries and from Central and Eastern Europe. The International Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) is a worldwide professional society of experts on risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication. It addresses all types of risks, including risks to human health and safety, environment, and homeland security. In 2003, the SRA launched a series of World Congresses on Risk to be organized every 5 years. Institution building for the World Congress series has included, among other activities, a Symposium on Risk Analysis with financial support from NSF and other sponsors, a book published by Cambridge University Press, and the First World Congress meetings held in Brussels in 2003. The First World Congress attracted more than 400 participants from over 40 countries. SRA believes strongly that involving researchers and practitioners from developing countries is essential to the focus and relevance of interdisciplinary research to address the world's most challenging risk problems. In partnership with other scientific, governmental and professional organizations interested in risk, the Second World Congress on Risk will be held from 8-11 June 2008 in Guadalajara Mexico.
Specific objectives of the Second World Congress are to (1) stimulate dialogue on emerging risk issues of worldwide interest, (2) share insights about analytic methods and decision processes used in different regions of the world, (3) demonstrate and disseminate recent advances in risk assessment, management, and communication, and (4) build bridges between professional organizations and individuals across the world to facilitate educational opportunities and to transfer science-based risk management practices across key users such as governments and stakeholders.
Support for this Congress comes from the Office of International Science and Engineering and from the Decision, Risk and Management Sciences Program in the Social and Economic Sciences Division of the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate.
