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When looking through the scientific literature, most of us will agree that not much happens in physics in developing countries. Yet, as physicists we all agree that physics can address a large number of problems that developing countries have to face and find cheap and easy solutions to many of them, e.g. production of solar energy, monitoring of urban and rural pollution, medical applications, water purification, etc. The problems encountered in physics research and training in developing countries are acute. While they may vary from country to country, they obey more or less the same rules: serious lack of funding, which worsens with the economic situation, political instability, wars, isolation ofscientists, lack ofpublic awareness, lack of institutional frameworks for research, difficult or no access to scientific publications, etc. The list is too long and we leave it to the collection of articles of this special issue to discuss the situation more in depth and to go into details in some characteristic examples. Yet at the same time, what is being achieved is what is being and has been achieved is impressive and deserves impressive and deserves admiration, given the admirat ion I giventhe local difficulties physicists have to face. In parallel,anddespitethe local difficulties physicists many individual initiatives by European have to face. scientists to develop links with colleagues from developing countries, it is fair to say that there is no initiative or policy by European countries, let alone the ED, to strengthen the research potential of developing countries, except for very few exceptions (see article by Furlan). Most of the North-South collaborations in Physics rely more on personal contacts (article by Svanberg and Svanberg and by Kwato Njock), which is fine but far from sufficient. While the awareness of the EPS for Physics for Development dates back to 1981 when H. Van Regemorter founded the Interdivisional Group of Physics for Development (IGPD) at the European Physical Society (see article by Lillethun and SuzorWeiner), the importance ofpursuing the effort and making it more significant is crucial at present. In August 2002, a symposium on Physics and Development was organised during the General EPS conference in Budapest, which brought together physicists fr9m Latin America, Africa and the Arab world (unfortunately the South and South-East Asian participants cancelled their attendance) to discuss the situation with European physicists. The present minispecial edition stems in parts from the discussion that then took place. Strengthening the research potential in Physics of developing countries is the IGPD main focus, despite its very limited funds.

Physics for Development: the role of the IGPD at EPS