The Inauguration of the XIX International Botanical
Congress Organizing Committees

In the morning on October 21, 2014, the inaugurating meeting of the XIX International Botanical Congress organizing committees was held in the Shenzhen Citizen Center, Shenzhen, declaring to the world that the committees come into effect on the day. Attendees of the meeting included Mayor Qin Xu, Deputy Mayor Qing-Sheng Liu, Deputy Scretary General Ting-Feng Zhu of Shenzhen Municipal Government, and Director General Wei-Hua Wu, Honorary Director General De-Yuan Hong, and Deputy Director General and Secretary General Song Ge of Botanical Society of China.

Since the ad hoc committee for selection of International Botanical Congress organizing country noticed Botanical Society of China that China’s invitation for the congress had been accepted by the committee in the October of 2010, preparation for the XIX International Botanical Congress in Shenzhen was started. The initial preparation focused on attending the XVIII International Botanical Congress held in Melbourne in the July of 2011, to promote China, Shenzhen, and the next congress to the delegates, and to learn the organizing work of the congress. The second phase of the preparation focused on formulation of the master-plan of the XIX International Botanical Congress. After inaugurating the organizing committees of the congress, the preparation entered a new phase and will be undertaken by different organizations affiliated with the organizing committee.

Qin Xu, Shenzhen City Mayor, and Wei-Hua Wu, Director General of Botanical Society of China, had been elected as congress presidents.