We are pleased to announce that the 12th International Pear Symposium will be held in the city of Leuven in Belgium from 14 - 18th July 2014. This symposium will be jointly organized by pcfruit research station (Prof. D. Bylemans, J. Vercammen and T. Deckers, convener) and the KU Leuven R&D division Fruitteeltcentrum, Department of Biosystems, Division of Crops Biotechnics (Prof. W. Keulemans) under auspices of the International Society for Horticultural Sciences (ISHS). The symposium is open for researchers, industry managers, growers and university students. Submitted papers and posters will be peer reviewed by members of the scientific committee for publication in a special volume of Acta Horticulturae. Pear cultivation is an important part of the Belgian fruit industry and the export of pears has greatly increased over the last decades. During the congress there will be opportunities to visit some pear orchards with high density planting systems. Following on from the success of the open day organized during the 11th pear symposium in Neuquen, Argentina, we will also include an open day during this symposium, where we will concentrate on the contributions that are of more practical interest for the Belgian pear growers. This will provide opportunities for local growers and producers to interact and share ideas and initiatives with pear experts from all over the world. This symposium will cover a broad range of aspects on pear production: ranging from the economics of production, to orchard design, training, pruning and fruit set improvement in high density planting systems, plant bioregulators, pear variety and cultivar breeding, pear rootstocks, pear genetics and biotechnology, plant protection, fruit nutrition, fruit quality management and post harvest technology. In this symposium we are looking for an active interaction of scientists working on European and on Asian pears. The official language of the symposium will be English. The symposium will be held in the beautiful city of Leuven, in the centre of the city in the auditorium Max Weber, Parkstraat 51, 3000 Leuven. Hotel accommodation will be available within walking distance (between 5 and 15 minutes) of the conference room. Special rates on the room prices for attendees will be arranged with the hotel managers. We will also look at the possibility of a limited number of student rooms available in the surroundings of the auditorium.