From Young Attendees to Young Actors: The “Young Chemists Symposium” at IUPAC2019

Abstract

For 100 years, IUPAC has supported chemists worldwide in all facets of their craft: industrial development, academic research, teaching, and many more. Mindful of nurturing its future leaders, since 2020 the Union ensured the attendance of the younger generation of chemists at the General Assembly and Congress in part through their “Young Observers” program [1]. It provides an opportunity for scientists below 40 to acquaint themselves with the work of the Divisions and Committees. The IUPAC Congress, which attracts several thousand attendees every two years, was not finely tuned to the expectations and contributions of the rising generation of chemists. However, the paradigm has begun to change. For the 47th Congress organized in Paris, France, 5-12 July 2019, the scientific executive committee, chaired by Clément Sanchez, enthusiastically received the proposal from a team of young chemists to build a “Young Chemists Symposium”, organized by younger chemists for the benefit of all the attendees.