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The XX International Botanical Congress (XX IBC) took place in Madrid, Spain from 21 to 27 July 2024. This is the largest international, professional conference for plant sciences on Earth. Because it only takes place every six years and includes a significant international presence, it is sometimes referred to as the "Olympics" of botanical sciences. This year, the analogy was more relevant as the meeting coincided with the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France (26 July–11 August 2024). The XX IBC was authorized by the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS) and was originally planned to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2023; however, it was decided early in 2021 that due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic and political issues, the Congress would be delayed by one year and the host was moved to Madrid, Spain. Ordinarily, hosts have six years to prepare for these meetings, but due to the change of host the XX IBC Organizing Committee only had three years to organize and plan the world's largest conference to support botanical science. The Organizing Committee, chaired by Gonzalo Nieto Feliner (President), Juan Carlos Moreno and Lúcia Lohmann (Vice-Presidents), and Marcial Escudero (Secretary General), was committed with organizing the XX IBC on a significantly shortened timeline. Despite this, the Organizing Committee – with support from the main sponsor, the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities of Spain, as well as the Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid (CSIC) (Fig. 1), the Sociedad Botánica Española (SEBOT), the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Madrid Foundation – was able to pull off the seemingly impossible and host a historic and remarkable IBC. The XX IBC welcomed 3011 total attendees from 95 different countries and featured a total of 29 invited speakers, including 18 Keynote, 7 Plenary, and 4 Public lectures. Further, the XX IBC included 267 total Symposia and a total of 3152 abstracts, including 1512 Oral presentations and 1640 posters. A total of 130 volunteers participated in the meeting and their efforts helped ensure a seamless conference experience, from welcome and registration to wayfinding and troubleshooting presentations, through to the closing ceremony, where these individuals, the next generation of botanists, were recognized. Numerous awards were provided to support attendance and participation in the XX IBC, including 18 Travel Support Grants that were provided by the IAPT (Fig. 2) and eight IBC Travel Support Grants provided by the Botanical Society of America to student and postdoc members. IAPT awards were provided to 12 students and 6 postdocs from 12 different countries. The Nomenclature Section preceded the XX IBC and took place from 15 to 19 July 2024 in Madrid at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) headquarters. This year, 173 registered delegates participated in the Nomenclature Section (Fig. 3) and – for the first time ever – the Nomenclature Section was successfully live-streamed to facilitate the virtual participation of 219 additional attendees worldwide. The Nomenclature Section was led by the President of the Section, Sandy Knapp, who delivered a master class in parliamentary procedure and kept the delegates on schedule to deliberate 433 total proposals to amend the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants during the course of five days. Additional expertise, interpretation, and guidance was provided by the Rapporteur-général, Nicholas Turland, and the Vice-rapporteur, John Wiersema. Throughout the week, recording of all decisions and deliberations was led by the Recorders, Anna Monro and Inés Álvarez. In addition to the successful live-streaming of the Nomenclature Section to a global audience, noteworthy outcomes from the week – from the resolution presented by the President and the Rapporteurs, Nick and John, on behalf of the Section – included frank, open, and respectful discussions about topics of community and societal interest; the establishment of a clear mechanism for voluntary registration of names and types of algae and plants; clarifications on the nomenclature of fossil-taxa and the removal of impediments to their typification; the establishment of several special-purpose committees, including one on issues of DNA sequences as types and one on ethics in nomenclature; the removal, starting immediately, of a significant set of names based on a racially offensive term; the creation, starting in 2026, of a mechanism for proposing rejection of new algal, fungal, and plant names derogatory to groups of people; and the establishment of a voting mechanism that enshrines the equality of institutions no matter their size. The Nomenclature Section received significant attention from not only the international scientific community, but also the general public, with editorial features published in the journals Nature and Science, as well as the BBC, El País, and The New York Times, highlighting key deliberations. During the closing ceremony, the resolution presenting the decisions of the Nomenclature Section was overwhelmingly accepted. Several awards and honors were presented at the XX IBC in Madrid, including two sponsored by the IAPT. One of these, the Vicki Funk Award for Distinguished Service, recognizes individuals who have served IAPT and/or the broad botanical community significantly to benefit plant science research and scholarship, including fungi and algae. This award, which was named to recognize the remarkable career and legacy of Vicki Funk, who dedicated significant amounts of time in service to IAPT and other organizations, was awarded for the very first time to Professor John McNeill in recognition of his invaluable and outstanding contributions, especially to nomenclature. The second award sponsored by IAPT and given at the XX IBC was the prestigious Engler Medal in Gold, which recognizes outstanding lifetime contributions to taxonomy and systematics of plants, algae, or fungi and is awarded only every six years at the International Botanical Congress. This year's award honors the lifetime achievement of Sandy Knapp (Fig. 4), whose career has not only included many important contributions to botany, but also mentorship of students and colleagues, significant service to the fields of botany, taxonomy, and nomenclature, and a strong proponent for international collaboration, inclusivity, and advocacy for true partnership between researchers in the global North and South. In addition to awards sponsored by IAPT, 12 additional awards were announced during the Closing Ceremony of the XX IBC in recognition of talks and posters presented by students and/or early career researchers. These awards are highlighted in Table 1. This year the IAPT initiated a special collaboration with a Colombian cultural foundation, Más Arte Más Acción (MAMA), which is spearheading a project entitled Alrededor de un Arbol ("Around a Tree"). Throughout the week, the MAMA team conducted interviews with IBC attendees and IAPT members in order to document career paths and perspectives of botanists from diverse backgrounds. As a result, the interviews that MAMA captured will help to produce an Oral History of Botany, aimed at capturing the experiences and challenges faced by researchers and to empower and inspire the next generation of botanists. In addition to this Oral History of Botany, the MAMA team will produce a soundscape as part of the Around a Tree project that will prominently feature themes related to biodiversity and climate change. This artistic piece will be presented during the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP16), Biodiversity Conference in Colombia (2024), and COP30 Climate Change Conference in Brazil (2025). Lastly, the MAMA team helped to produce a digital art piece that aims to amplify the XX IBC Madrid Declaration 2024 and reach broader and more diverse audiences. One of the most significant outcomes of the XX IBC was the presentation of the Madrid Declaration 2024 during the closing ceremony. The Madrid Declaration includes ten calls for action for a sustainable future that seek Healthier connections between plants and people for a resilient planet and recognizes that Plants are our past, present and future. They sustain life on Earth. The ten Calls for Action outlined in the Madrid Declaration include: (1) Plant Diversity as the Foundation; (2) Botanical Education at all Levels; (3) Collaborative Transdisciplinary Approaches; (4) Addressing Inequalities in the Plant Sciences; (5) Recognizing Biocultural Diversity; (6) Plant Diversity is Central to Ecosystem Protection and Restoration; (7) Policy Based on Sound Knowledge About Plants; (8) Harnessing Nature-Based Solutions; (9) A Stronger Role of Plants in Achieving Sustainability and a Net Zero Economy; and (10) Increasing Awareness of the Centrality of Plants for Planetary Health and Resilience. During the closing ceremony of each IBC, one of the most highly anticipated moments is the official announcement and presentation of the next host of the IBC. The International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS) was pleased to announce the forthcoming XXI IBC will take place in Cape Town, South Africa from 21 to 28 July 2029. Professor Stephen Boatwright, President of the XXI IBC Organizing Committee presented the future host's bid, which included an informative and engaging video that highlighted the host city, venue, and theme for the upcoming IBC: A celebration of diversity. This will be the first time the IBC will take place on the African continent and the next meeting promises to be extraordinary!
Gostel et al. (Mon,) studied this question.