FORMATION OF THE FIRST-EVER INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETIES

Leaders of 19 of the world's regional and national meteorological societies recently met and unanimously agreed to form a first-ever International Forum of Meteorological Societies (IFMS). The fundamental goal of the IFMS is very basic: it is to foster and encourage communication and exchange of knowledge, ideas, and resources among the world's more than 60 meteorological societies. Such exchanges occur today only on a bilateral basis or through the efforts of three regional meteorological societies: the African Meteorological Society, the European Meteorological Society (EMS), and the Latino American Federation of Meteorological Societies (FLISMET).

The IFMS is quite distinct from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Whereas the WMO is an agency of the United Nations that deals with observations, standards, data exchange, and technology transfer among its 188 member states and territories, the IFMS will focus on advancing the goals and objectives of the world's professional and scientific societies. The IFMS is intended to be an informal mechanism that facilitates interactions among societies and, as such, will not have any legal or official formalism. Specific terms of reference are being drafted by an interim steering committee and will be presented to the participating societies at the IFMS's first global meeting.

The concept of an International Forum of Meteorological Societies arose out of discussions within the AMS Council and its Executive Committee that began in 2007 and resulted in a 2008 decision to have the AMS convene a planning meeting involving a representative subset of meteorological societies from around the world to explore whether there was sufficient common interest to form an international forum. The planning meeting was held 13 January 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona, in conjunction with the 89th Annual Meeting of the AMS. Representatives from 18 societies from North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, the WMO, and the International Affairs Office of NOAA's National Weather Service participated in the planning meeting (see sidebar) where, among other things, they unanimously agreed to establish the IFMS and go forward with an inaugural global meeting of the IFMS in connection with the 90th Annual Meeting of the AMS that will be held 17-21 January 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (The formal motion to form the IFMS is available as a BAMS online supplement at DOI:10.1175/2009BAMS2902.2.)

A few examples of topics of common concern to IFMS members that were identified at the planning meeting include:

* the role of meteorological societies in global climate change: from education and communication to policy;

* the role of meteorological societies in coping with the impacts of severe natural weather hazards: education, planning, adaptation, and response;

* coping with the rapid evolution of society publications, electronic publishing, and increasing costs of print journals;

* trends in society membership;

* sector trends: academia, government, industry;

* retention of student members after graduation;

* entraining professionals in affiliated hard and soft sciences;

* domestic outreach - the role of the meteorological society in informing and educating professionals and the general public;

* reconciling the needs of professional and scientific members;

* international outreach - missed opportunities?

The first global IFMS meeting in Atlanta will be hosted by the AMS; future meetings are expected to take place every 2 to 3 years and will be hosted by meteorological societies around the world.

[Sidebar]

Participants at the International Forum of Meteorological Societies planning meeting held 13 Jan 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona.

[Sidebar]

PARTICIPATING METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS IN THE IFMS PLANNING MEETING

American Meteorological Society �

Australian Meteorological and Oceanographie Society �

Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographie Society

Chinese Meteorological Society �

Centro Argentino de Meteorologos

Czech Meteorological Society

Ethiopian Meteorological Society (EMlBAMA) �

European Meteorological Society �

Hong Kong Meteorological Society

Indian Meteorological Society �

Korean Meteorological Society

Latino American Federation Meteorological Societies (FLISMET) �

Meteorological Society of Japan

Meteorological Society of New Zealand

Mexican Organization of Meteorologists (OMMAC)

Philippines Meteorological Society

Royal Meteorological Society

South African Society for Atmospheric Sciences

World Meteorological Organization

* Member of the Interim steering committee

[Author Affiliation]

Welter F. Dabberdt, of Vaisala Corp. in Boulder, Colorado, is Post President of the AMS.

DOI:10.1175/2009BAMS2902.1

�2009 American Meteorological Society