IUFRO-SPDC continued its commitment to assisting forest scientists from economically disadvantaged countries through its Scientist Assistance Program (SAP). Given that 2024 marked a Congress year, the programme focused its efforts on providing travel grants specifically tailored for attendance at the XXVI IUFRO World Congress in Stockholm, Sweden. The response was overwhelming, with more than 1000 applications received (applications closed on 15 November 2023), reflecting a significant demand for support among prospective attendees. Within the constraints of available donor funding, a total of 120 scientists from 81 different countries were selected to receive the support package. This comprehensive package includes travel arrangements to and from Stockholm, accommodation, subsistence allowances, and coverage of the Congress registration fees, ensuring that recipients could fully participate in the enriching experience of the IUFRO World Congress. 

60 early- and mid-career scientists with approved SAP sponsorship will participate in the Pre-Congress Training. These workshops are organised the week before the Congress and are free of charge. The costs for the extended stay in Uppsala are also covered by IUFRO-SPDC. The objective is to enhance essential skills for generating high-quality research results and effectively transferring scientific knowledge to policy and practice. Participants will join the following three courses:  

• Research Methods in Forest Science 
• Systematic Evidence Evaluation in Forest Science  
• Science-Society Interactions: Making Science Work for Policy and Practice 

The application for the Scientist Assistance Programme to attend the Congress and the Pre-Congress training is now closed, and we are not longer accepting any further applications.

This is a dedicated space to showcase IUFRO-SPDC projects on Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) from around the world (Brazil, Denmark, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Kyrgyz Republic, Malawi, Nigeria, Paraguay, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan). Visitors can meet, share experiences and insights on capacity building, multi-stakeholder process, training, mentorship, technical approaches, curricula and teaching methods, amongst others. We expect policy makers, FLR facilitators/educators and practitioners to discuss the interactions between governance, facilitation/training and implementation. 

In fact, there will be four sessions during the Congress lunch breaks addressing governance, implementation, facilitation and education with 10min presentations complemented by discussions and networking. 

Throughout the week, there will be posters on display from different projects and a tour with virtual reality goggles of an integrated landscape management with agroforestry project. 

And visitors will be invited to take an interactive quiz, where they can test their knowledge based on SPDC materials, adding an element of fun and engagement to the learning experience. Printed publications will also be available. 

This Congress evaluation survey aims to gather feedback from attendees to help improve future events. The survey covers exhibition space content, and overall experience and includes a mix of multiple choice and open-ended questions.