Since then, the Union showed its activities in three fields. The first one is the organization of General Assembly and Congress every three years. The second one is the publication of eight crystallographic journals and many books in crystallography. The third one is the activities given by 17 scientific commissions.

The year 2008 is the 60th Anniversary. The number of the membership countries and Adhering bodies increased from 4 to 40. The crystallography became the basis of all the sciences studying inorganic, organic and biological substances. The 21st General Assembly and Congress will be held in Osaka, Japan, 23 - 31 August. We have a chance to see the full breadth of current crystallography and glimpse of what is to come.

Before the Opening Ceremony of the Congress, IUCr will have the 60th Anniversary Ceremony in the same place to celebrate the great advancement of crystallography and to aim at further development in crystallography.

It would give me great pleasure to welcome you to the active and modern city, Osaka, which is neighboring to Kyoto and Nara, the cities of cultural inheritance in Japan.

Yuji Ohashi President International Union of Crystallography

Even since the Middle Ages, the City of Osaka has been a crossroads for people, goods, culture and information. All have passed through and met in Osaka historically, giving birth to something new and valuable. The modern City of Osaka has played an even greater role as a crossroads of international exchange, where we are preparing for the IUCr-XXI Congress and General Assembly.

Its scientific program in 7 days, which has been prepared by the International Program Committee formed by 26 experts covering a wide field of crystallography, is very rich and exciting with 2 Plenary Lectures and 36 Keynote Lectures. As many as 98 Microsymposia will highlight topically hot as well as basically important crystallographic subjects with about 500 selected speakers. A special attention for programming has been paid to promote interdisciplinary fields in crystallography.

Crystallography plays a key role of bridging major fields such as biology, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, and earth science ranging from academic research to industrial/medical applications. In such a respect, crystallography has high scientific and technological potentials to introduce an innovation in the global issues such as health, environment, energy and information.

Our hearty invitation is extended to all crystallographers and their accompanying persons to attend IUCr-XXI and to enjoy scientific and social activities.

Yasuhiko Fujii Chairperson International Program Committee

Tomitake Tsukihara Chairperson Local Organizing Committee