South Africa will be hosting the 35th ‘World Cup of Geosciences’ in 2016, the prestigious International Geological Congress (IGC), which is undoubtedly the most important activity of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). The South African event will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 27 August to 4 September 2016.

The Council for Geoscience, together with the Geological Society of South Africa and other collaborators from academia and industry, is currently spearheading the preparations for the 35th IGC in South Africa.

The objectives of the IGC are as follows:

Contribute, in collaboration with and under the auspices of the IUGS, to the advancement of fundamental and applied research in the geological sciences.
Provide a general assembly of geoscientists, spanning a wide range of geoscience disciplines, where ideas and information can be freely exchanged.
Emphasise the geological specialities or challenges of the host country or region.
Provide the opportunity, by way of geological excursions, to examine geological problems and features in the field.
 

Only two of these prestigious conferences have been held in Africa before. The first was hosted by South Africa in Pretoria in 1929 and was instrumental in advancing the study of geology and the earth sciences in South Africa and on the continent. The other IGC was held on the continent of Africa in Algeria in 1952.