Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[SkeptInq@aol.com]

                  EUROPEAN COUNCIL OF SKEPTICAL ORGANISATIONS

                                (ECSO)


             INAUGURATION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTER FOR INQUIRY
                              AND RELATED SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE
                (ROSSDORF, GERMANY): SEPTEMBER 2ND AND 3RD, 2000


At the initiative of the German skeptical organisation GWUP, and with
co-operation of CSICOP, ECSO, and others, a CENTER FOR INQUIRY has been
established in Rossdorf, Germany (Arheilger Weg 11; D-64380 Rossdorf). This
Center will act as a European facility, offering advice and support to all
European skeptics and their organisations.

Inauguration
The Center was opened last year, but it will be officially inaugurated as a
general European facility on next September 2 and 3. You are cordially
invited to this festive happening, which will take place from Saturday
September 2 at 14 hours till Sunday September 3 after lunch (about 14 h). The
inauguration will take place in the Center and the associated meetings will
be held in one of the conference rooms of Hotel Aron, Arheilger Weg 9,
D-64380 Rossdorf, which is located just next to the Center.

Scientific meetings
Next to the inauguration ceremony, which will essentially consist of a few
brief talks, drinks and meeting new and old friends, the main contents of the
Rossdorf meeting will be scientific.
Outstanding scientists will deal with matters regarding the relation and
interaction between science and society, specifically in the European
context. There are three main themes:
· Legalisation of alternative medicine in Europe
· Europe and environmental issues
· Science and religion

We hope that the Rossdorf meeting will contribute to a more scientific and
skeptical approach of political and environmental matters in Europe.

The list of speakers includes:

Prof. W. Betz: Legalisation of alternative medicine in Europe; the role of
the EU
Prof. J. de Boer: The Chernobyl disaster: the great confusion
Prof. C. de Jager: Climate change: global warming by solar effects
Dr. M. Mahner: Science and religion: compatible or incompatible?
Prof. J. van Noordwijk Dr. J.C. van Noordwijk - van Veen: Science,
socio-biology and
     skepticism; a map, a motor and a goal for human behaviour independent of
religion
Prof. M. Polidoro: Legalisation of alternative medicine in Italy
Prof. H. Priem: Climate change: the human influence analysed
Prof. S. F. Singer: From Rio to Kyoto to The Hague

For further information about the program and suggestions for brief talks,
please contact per email: Chairman@ecso.org

Common dinner on Saturday evening
The common dinner will start at about 20 h on Saturday evening. During or
after the dinner Professor Massimo Polidoro will entertain us by dealing with
the topic of investigating psychics, with life demonstrations.

ECSO Annual Council meeting
From 17 - 19 h on Saturday the ECSO Council will have its annual meeting
(attendance open, voting restricted to delegates from Member Organisations
and from candidate M.O.'s.). The agenda for that meeting will be distributed
around mid-July.


Logistics and other information
The attendance fee for the meeting is Euro 115, which includes single room
lodging at Hotel Aron, dinner, breakfast and lunch, two coffee breaks, and of
course attending the inauguration ceremony and reception. For participants
not lodging in the hotel the fee is Euro 50. The fee should be paid upon
arrival.
For those persons that meet financial problems in attending, ECSO has very
limited means to cover part of the costs. To that end, please contact the
email address treasurer@ecso.org.

How to reach Rossdorf
Hotel Aron offers a free shuttle service from Frankfurt International Airport
as well as from Darmstadt railway station. If you wish to use this service,
please register with the Center at mahner@gwup.org, so that we can organise a
pick-up time on Saturday noon. The Center will then inform you about the
exact place and time of the shuttle stop. If you do not wish to use the
shuttle service, there are the following options to reach Rossdorf.

From Darmstadt railway station take bus 5502, K55 or K56 (fee: DM 2.90) from
stop 4 in front of the station. The stop in Rossdorf is called
"Spessartring". At this intersection (marked by an ESSO gas station) turn
left into Arheilger Weg.

From Frankfurt International Airport (stop 14 or 15) take the Airliner Bus to
Darmstadt center (Luisenplatz; fee 11.90 DM). From there, change to bus 5502
(direction Dieburg or Gross-Zimmern; see above).

By car: leave highway 5 at any exit around Darmstadt and get to B26
(direction Dieburg). Exit at Rossdorf-West. Drive on to Rossdorf. When you
reach an intersection where there is an ESSO gas station at the right hand
side, turn left into Arheilger Weg.

Further information and pre-registration.
It is very helpful for the organisers of the meeting to have an early
impression of the expected attendance. This applies still more to the hotel,
which has a limited number of rooms available. Therefore, please announce
your wish to participate at an early time and before July 15.

Those who want to register, or who want to have more information are
suggested to contact Dr. Martin Mahner at the email address mahner@gwup.org,
or by calling him at telephone number +49-6154-6950-23(fax: -22).


Hoping for a broad and active attendance at this meeting and for lively
discussions,

Cornelis de Jager  (email: chairman@ecso.org)