Symposium
Editor: D. Jhurry
Wiley-VCH, 2006, ISBN 3-527-31334-6
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Content
doi:10.1002/masy.200590031
Preface
The
8th UNESCO/IUPAC Conference on Macromolecules: "Polymers
for Africa" organized by Associate Professor Dhanjay
Jhurry of the Department of Chemistry of the University
of Mauritius in collaboration with the Chemical Society
of Mauritius was held in the beautiful environment of
the seaside resort 'La Pirogue' in the island of Mauritius,
June 4-9, 2005.This conference, previously organized by
the UNESCO Associated Centre for Macromolecules &
Materials, Stellenbosch, South Africa, is a main conduit
for young and established scientists from the continent
of Africa to discuss with their colleagues from other
parts of the world topics of current and future importance
to Africa. The conference was well attended with an excellent
mix of oral and poster presentations loosely arranged
around the themes of biopolymers and biodegradable polymers,
functional polymers and polymers in health and medicine,
all topics of global importance but with special relevance
to the African context. The enthusiastic participation
of numerous young African graduate students and scientists
led to many lively discussions during the well-attended
poster sessions.
It
is obvious that this conference series can make an important
contribution to the development of polymer science in
the African continent as more young scientists are exposed
to and participate in state of the art polymer research
in contexts of relevance to their local environment. While
it is clear that holding such conferences on the African
continent stimulates the all-important participation of
both young and more mature African scientists, should
the rest of the world not be exposed to the needs and
issues of polymer science in the developing world? Should
topics such as "Polymers for Africa" or "Polymers
for the Developing World" be included in the major
IUPAC-sponsored polymer conferences held in the developed
world to sensitize polymer scientists to the special needs
of developing nations?
The
papers collected for this issue of Macromolecular Symposia
represent only a fraction of the presentations made at
the conference but give a flavor of the diversity of the
topics that were presented. We thank Professor Dhanjay
Jhurry and the organizers of the conference for their
hard work, not only for this very successful conference,
but also for the assembly of this volume. It is hoped
that the readers will be stimulated to attend and participate
in the next edition of the "Polymers for Africa"
conference for a better understanding of the global significance
of this topic.
Jean
Fréchet