104 Les/Wood, Vol. 73, No. 2, December 2024 Les/Wood Novice/News 67. mednarodni kongres SWST 2024 v organizaciji InnoRenew CoE in Univerze na Primorskem 67 th SWST International Convention 2024 with local hosts InnoRenew CoE and the University of Primorska Lea Primožič 1* 67. mednarodni kongres Združenja za znanost o lesu in tehnologijo lesa SWST (The Society of Wood Science & Technology), ki je potekal od 30. junija do 5. julija 2024 v kongresnem centru hotela Bernardin v Portorožu, sta uspešno gostila razisko- valni inštitut InnoRenew CoE in Univerza na Primor- skem. Letošnji kongres je potekal pod geslom »Po- speševanje regenerativne trajnosti z znanostjo o lesu«, in je v Sloveniji združil več kot 190 raziskovalk in raziskovalcev ter predstavnic in predstavnikov in- dustrije iz različnih koncev sveta. Kongres se je tradicionalno začel s sprejemno slovesnostjo že v nedeljo, kjer so tudi uradno odprli potujočo razstavo »Women in Science«. Ta je na- menjena praznovanju žensk v znanosti. Dr. Andreja Kutnar, direktorica InnoRenew CoE, je bila osrednja govorka na kongresu. V svo- jem predavanju se je dotaknila teme o prihodnosti za znanost o lesu. V štirih dneh kongresa se je zvrstilo več kot 170 predstavitev, kjer so raziskovalke in raziskovalci predstavili najnovejša dognanja in spoznanja gle- de inovacij v gozdarskem sektorju, znanosti o lesu, nove uporabe lesa v grajenem okolju, pozitivnih okoljskih učinkih z uporabo lesa, o trajnosti, novih pristopih k izobraževanju v lesnem sektorju, priho- dnosti za inženirske žive materiale ter o socialno- -ekonomskih učinkih trajnostnih praks na področju lesa. Na kongresu je bilo tudi najavljeno, da je dr. Matthew Schwarzkopf, raziskovalec v InnoRenew CoE, postal podpredsednik društva SWST. Ob najavi je povedal: »Počaščen sem, da sem bil izbran za ta položaj. V združenju sodelujem že od študentskih let in zelo cenim, kaj lahko to združenje ponudi tako mladim kot uveljavljenim raziskovalkam in raz- iskovalcem. Veselim se, da bom zdaj lahko služil in vračal nazaj ter tako zagotovil, da bodo lahko tudi drugi še naprej imeli koristi od tega odličnega zdru- ženja!« Organizatorji so pripravili tudi okroglo mizo in pogovor z urednikoma knjige Handbook of Wood Science and Technology, izdane pri založbi Sprin- ger. Urednika Peter Niemz in Alfred Teischinger sta predstavila knjigo in posebej izpostavila pomen po- enotenja izrazoslovja na področju znanosti o lesu, kar je pomembno tudi za nadaljnji razvoj te vede. Poleg drugih aktivnosti je bil poseben del kon- ference namenjen predstavitvi Mednarodne aka- demije znanosti o lesu (International Academy of Wood Science, IAWS). Ta je organizirala posebno sekcijo s predavanji, IAWS pa je organiziral tudi Slika 1. 67. Kongres SWST 2024, ki je potekal v kon- gresnem centru hotela Bernardin v Portorožu, je imel bogat program. Figure 1. The 67th SWST International Convention (2024) was organized at the Bernardin Hotel Con- gress Centre in Portorož, Slovenia, had an outreach programme. 1 InnoRenew CoE, Livade 6a, Izola/Isola, Slovenia * e-pošta: lea.primozic@innorenew.eu 105 Les/Wood, Vol. 73, No. 2, December 2024 Les/Wood Novice/News družabno uro s pogostitvijo. V okviru konference je bil pripravljen tudi bogat spremljevalni program, ki je vključeval aktivnosti za mlade raziskovalke in raziskovalce ter mentorice in mentorje, poslovno srečanje SWST in podelitev nagrad ter slavnostno večerjo. Kongres je bil pomembna priložnost za izme- njavo znanja in za obogatitev našega razumevanja in uporabe lesa kot ključnega naravnega vira ter za vzpostavljanje novih povezav in spodbujanje inova- cij na področju lesarstva in tehnologije lesa. Orga- nizatorji so kongres zaključili z vabilom k udeležbi na naslednjem kongresu, ki bo v letu 2025 potekal v ZDA. The 67th International Convention of the So- ciety of Wood Science & Technology (SWST) was successfully hosted by the InnoRenew CoE research institute and the University of Primorska at the Ber- nardin Hotel Congress Centre in Portorož, Slovenia, from 30 June 2024 to 5 July 2024. The theme of this year’s congress was “Advanc- ing regenerative sustainability with wood science”. It brought together more than 190 researchers, ac- ademics and industry representatives from around the world. The congress began with the traditional wel- coming ceremony on Sunday, during which the travelling exhibition “Women in Science” was offi- cially opened. It is dedicated to honouring excep- tional women in wood science. Dr Andreja Kutnar, InnoRenew CoE director, was the keynote speaker at the congress. In her presentation entitled “Where is wood science go- ing?”, she addressed the future of wood science. Over the four days of the congress, more than 170 presentations were given by researchers on the latest developments in forest innovation, wood science, new uses of wood in the built environ- ment, positive environmental impacts of wood use, sustainability, new approaches to education in the wood sector, the future of living engineering mate- rials and the socio-economic impact of sustainable practices in the wood sector. It was also announced that Dr Matthew Schwarzkopf, an InnoRenew CoE researcher, would be the new Vice President of SWST. He said: “I am honoured to have been selected for this position. I have been involved in SWST since I was a student Slika 3. Potujoča razstava “Ženske v znanosti“, in predstavitve ambasadork znanosti o lesu. Figure 3. Travelling exhibition “Women in Science” presenting women ambassadors of wood science. Slika 2. Dr. Andreja Kutnar, direktorica InnoRenew CoE, kot osrednja govorka na kongresu. Figure 2. Dr. Andreja Kutnar, InnoRenew CoE director as a Keynote Speaker at the congress. 106 Les/Wood, Vol. 73, No. 2, December 2024 Les/Wood Novice/News and really appreciate what SWST has to offer both young and established researchers. I look forward to serving the organization and giving back so that others can benefit from this great association.” The hosts also organized a roundtable and dis- cussion with the editors of the Handbook of Wood Science and Technology, published by Springer. Peter Niemz and Alfred Teischinger presented the book and emphasized the importance of standard- izing terminology for the further development of wood science and technology. Among other activities, a special session was dedicated to introducing the International Acade- my of Wood Science (IAWS), with a special lecture session and a social hour with a banquet organized by the IAWS. The conference also included a rich social pro- gramme, including activities for young researchers and mentors, a SWST business session with awards ceremony and a gala dinner. The convention was an important opportunity to share knowledge and enrich our understanding and utilization of wood as an important natural re- source, make new connections and promote inno- vation in the field of wood science and technology. The organizers concluded the congress with an invi- tation to participate in the next convention, which will take place in the USA in 2025. Slika 4. Skupinska slika in gala večerja ob zaključku kongresa. Figure 4. Group photo and gala dinner at the end of the congress.