Welcome Address

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

We are delighted to welcome you back to Berlin for the 2008 ERS Annual Congress.The city hosted the Congress in 1997 and 2001, and the ERS has good reasons for choosing it a third time. Situated right at the heart of Europe, Germany's beautiful capital, with its leafy parks and waterways, is also the country's largest city (and, with 3.4 million residents, the European Union's second-largest). Its accessibility and culture make it one of the continent's mostvisited destinations.

Although Berlin is only about 750 years old, making it comparatively young among European cities, a great deal of history surrounds it. Since the Wall came down in 1989, Berlin has become a symbol of both division and unity.

Berlin is an important junction, where East meets West. It offers all political, cultural and historic experiences you could wish for. It is an important economic centre and its universities, research institutes, theatres, museums, concert halls and architecture enjoy an international reputation.

The Congress venue itself, the International Congress Centrum (ICC Berlin) is one of the world's largest and most modern multifunctional congress centres. It is an ideal choice to host the 2008 ERS Annual Congress.

On behalf of the ERS, we are happy to invite you to Berlin in 2008.
We look forward to welcoming you to an outstanding scientific congress.

Gerhard Sybrecht Congress Chair

Torsten Bauer Congress Co-Chair

Benoit Nemery Scientific Committee Chair