The 19th International Meiofauna Conference (IMCO) is heading to Global South, in Kolkata, the City of Joy, in India from 10-12 December 2025. This is the first me in the history of IMCO that this conference is going to be held in India. The 19th IMCO will bring together scientists, policymakers and citizen scientists working on different aspects of meiofauna or have an interest in meiofauna from all across the globe. The venue of the meeting will be Fairfield by Marriott, New Town in Kolkata. It is expected that a number of plenary talks, parallel scientific sessions and sessions dedicated on capacity development will be part of the 19th IMCO. By end of January of 2025, the dedicated website of 19th IMCO will offer updates of the conference.
Kolkata, the megapolis, offers a perfect setting for IMCO. Considered as the intellectual hub of India, Kolkata is located in close proximity to Sundarbans mangrove, world’s largest contiguous mangroves, an UNESCO World Heritage Site in the South while the mighty Himalaya is located in the north of Kolkata. The megapolis of Kolkata is a major hub connected by numerous international flights including with other regional hubs such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hong Kong, Dubai and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). Besides, the capital city of India- Delhi as well as the financial capital of India- Mumbai are connected with innumerable number of flights on a daily basis.
The venue of the meetting is strategically located in terms of local connectivity including public transportation (metro, bus, etc) and also surrounded by huge number of hotels including budget hotels and hostels. The Local Organizing Committee of 19th IMCO will strive to facilitate availability of hotels and hostels on reasonable budget during the days of the conference.
There will be a dedicated training workshop on meiofauna between 8-9 December towards achieving capacity development for early career researchers (ECRs) from the Global South and wider geographical regions. The Local Organizing Committee along with the International Advisory Committee of 19th IMCO is working to generate funds for supporting travel and registration fees of many international ECR participants to achieve equity in knowledge sharing.
19IMCO will offer delegates to experience the cultural heritage and diversity as well as the pan regional cuisines of India. Overall, 19th IMCO is expected to connect Global South with the wider world through the knowledge of meiofauna.
Punyasloke Bhadury