The “World Congress of Malacology” is the emblematic event of UNITAS MALACOLOGICA (UM) and we welcome you to be part of it. The 2013 congress will be held on the main campus of the University of the Azores, at Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel, from the 21st till the 28th of July 2013. It is the 18th International Congress of UM, the 6th after UM has become a worldwide association. The congress will also facilitate activities of its affiliated societies, under the coordination of UM; the American Malacological Society (AMS), The Malacological Society of London (MSL) and the Sociedad Española de Malacología (SEM) have already expressed interest in this association. The congress is open to all contributions in the field of malacology and will host symposia as well as contributed papers and posters. Participants are welcome to propose to organize symposia on themes of their election. A total of about 12 symposia appears to be a suitable number for a congress; so, please, hurry to secure a place of your own in that most coveted category! We further suggest that one aspect, inter alia, of the participation of affiliated societies could be by assuming the responsibility of selected symposia. Below are suggestions of titles and a challenge for volunteering organizers: 1. Living in the extreme: molluscan communities of hydrothermal vents 2. Evolution at a snail’s pace: tempo and mode of speciation in land snails 3. How did they get here?: a look into the past to understand the present (Sergio ávila + Carlos Marques da Silva) 4. There’s something about Opisthobranchia 5. Etc., etc.