Conference venue

Wageningen International Congress Centre (WICC)

The conference will be held at the Wageningen International Congress Centre (WICC). For more information, please see https://www.wicc.nl.

The city of Wageningen

Wageningen lies close to the right bank of the branch of the Rhine estuary. Excavations date a settlement at this site back to the Stone Age. The hills to the east of the town provided protection for a Bronze Age tribe from flooding of the Rhine and from enemies and the earliest record of the name (in 838 AD) is from the same hilly area. The town has had a chequered history, being occupied or destroyed on several occasions. Wageningen received city rights in the year 1263. In 1421 the Rhine changed course, moving further south and, in the process, having a detrimental effect on Wageningen's trade. In the 17th Century the town started tobacco cultivation and there were several cigar manufacturers. The floodplain of the Rhine to the south also had several brick factories, one of which can still be seen. In 1876 the Dutch government decided to build the first agricultural school in Wageningen on the grounds that it was in the heart of the country and was surrounded by a wide variety of soils. Since then the town has boomed and Wageningen University is now a world-renowned Life Sciences university.

A highlight in Wageningen's long history is the important contribution it made during the Second World War. On May 5th 1945, the German capitulation was signed in Wageningen, in hotel "De Wereld", marking the end of World War II. On this day, German supreme commander Johannes Blaskowitz surrendered to Canadian Corps commander Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes at hotel De Wereld. The capitulation document was actually signed the next day on May 6th (no typewriter had been available the prior day) in the auditorium of then Rijks Landbouw Hoogeschool (now Wageningen University), located next door. This historic event is celebrated every May 5 as the Netherlands' Liberation Day national holiday.

Modern day Wageningen is a university town with a student-like atmosphere. Old houses, typical properties, and small friendly streets define the scene. It is more lively than one would perhaps expect from a Dutch town with only 36,000 inhabitants. In 2007 it had residents from 152 different countries, primarily students at our university. In springtime, the town is especially enjoyable at its two botanical gardens, De Dreijen and Belmonte, both of which house a variety of interesting flora from all over the world. While in Wageningen, don't forget to check out the beautiful view of the Rhine River and its wetlands. From the dyke that protects the town in case the river floods you can take walks through the meadows to the river Rhine and then along it. This river is popular among the locals as a place to go fishing, birdwatching, swimming (in summer) and ice skating (in winter).