The International Geological Congress (IGS) is a unique conference series, being one of the world’s longest-running gathering of scientists. It has the aim of sharing both fundamental and applied research across the broad spectrum of Earth sciences. Held every four years, it is awarded on the basis of bids from competing cities, by voting members of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS).
The notion of such an international gathering of geoscientists was pitched in 1876 at an annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This Founding Committee approached the Société Géologique de France who took on the responsibility of delivering the first IGC. Then called the International Congress of Geologists, it was held in Paris in 1878 – coinciding with the Paris Exposition.
Apart from times of war, the IGC has run regularly ever since, moving around the world. The IGC was last held in Europe in 2008 (Oslo) and the UK (London) in 1948.
Since 1961, the IGC have been overseen by the IUGS, for whom it is their flagship event. IUGS is a membership organisation of nations and regions from across the world. It promotes international cooperation, for example, in establishing nomenclature and agreeing geo-standards. It does this through a series of commissions, task-groups, and programmes. It publishes a periodical, books, and the definitive International Chronostratigraphic Chart. IUGS promotes education, geo-heritage, and geo-conservation globally, especially in partnership with UNESCO. In effect, each IGC is a gathering point for this large community of geoscientists – the quadrennial general assembly. A celebration of all things geological!
You can find out more through a brief history of the IGC here > (PDF 75 kB)
Although there are many large conferences, many run annually, within the Earth sciences, these tend to focus on specific areas of the science (e.g. geophysics) or are run by national or regional associations. The IGC offers something unique, bringing together a greater diversity of scientific interests and of scientists. It is now especially important for linking together academia, governmental/national organisations and surveys, policy-makers, and industry. This diversity makes IGCs especially important for tying in outreach activities and promoting geological sciences across the global community.