Report of the Executive Committee for 2003

The Twenty-First General Assembly and International Congress of Crystallography were held at the Osaka International Convention Centre, Osaka, Japan, 23–31 August 2008, by invitation of the Science Council of Japan and the Japanese National Committee for Crystallography. A report, including a detailed report of the General Assembly, has been published [Acta Cryst. (2009), A65, 390–442]. The General Assembly and Congress were attended by 2477 scientists, 140 accompanying members and 58 exhibitors from 66 countries and territories. The Eighth Ewald Medal and Prize were accepted by Dr D. Sayre at the Opening Ceremony. The first Gjønnes Medal in Electron Crystallography was awarded to J. Gjønnes. There were 36 Keynote Lectures, 98 Microsymposia and Open Commission Meetings. The abstracts in the published book of Collected Abstracts were prepared from electronic submissions and were also provided on a CD-ROM. A commercial exhibition comprising 58 companies and booksellers was organized. The General Assembly met on the evenings of Sunday 24 August, Monday 25 August and Thursday 28 August. Applications for membership from the Regional Committee of Crystallographers from Algeria, Latvia, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine (Category I) and from the Regional Committee of Crystallographers from Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam (Category I) were accepted. The withdrawal of the Adhering Body for Venezuela was confirmed. The change in the name of the Adhering Body for Korea was accepted. The change in Category of Adherence of the Adhering Body for India (from Category II to Category III) was accepted. The Minutes of the Twentieth General Assembly in 2005 were approved. Amendments to the Statutes and By-Laws were considered but not approved. The General Assembly received the triennial financial report and the reports of the Executive Committee, the Commissions, the Scientific Associates and Regional Associates and the Union Representatives on Other Bodies since the Twentieth General Assembly in 2005. New officers of the Union, Chairs and members of Commissions and Union Representatives were elected; the full list of these people is given as an Appendix to the report of the Twenty-First General Assembly and Congress. The formation of a new Commission on Crystallography in Art and Cultural Heritage was approved. Reports of the Chair of the Sub-committee on the Union Calendar, of the Chair of the Committee for the Maintenance of the CIF Standard, of the Chair of the Committee on Crystallographic Databases and of the Editors of the IUCr Newsletter were received. The good progress of the IUCr/Oxford University Press Book Series was noted. The General Assembly approved the recommendation that the unit contribution should remain unchanged at CHF 1000 for the years 2009–2011 inclusive. It reaffirmed its decision to hold the TwentySecond General Assembly and Congress in Madrid, Spain, in 2011. It also provisionally accepted an invitation from the National Research Council for Canada to hold the Twenty-Third General Assembly and Congress in Montreal, Canada, in 2014. The Executive Committee met for several days before and most days during the Congress, mainly to deal with matters directly related to the business of the General Assembly and the work of the Commissions. 2. Other meetings