4^th EPSO Conference “Plants for Life” Report on the opening day, 22 June 2008 Toulon (Côte d'Azur), France, 22-26 June 2008

Opening Day - 22 June 2008
The 4^th EPSO Conference was opened on behalf of EPSO by: Karin Metzlaff (L) Executive Director of the European Plant Science Organisation    Hélène Lucas (R) Head of Genetics and Plant Breeding division, INRA, France		The 4^th EPSO Conference was opened on behalf of France by: André Le Bivic (L) Deputy Scientific Director, Department of Life Sciences, CNRS Presentation François Houllier (R) Scientific Director for Plant and Plant Products, INRA Presentation
Keynote address “What do we need to improve crop faster and cheaper?” Richard B. Flavell - Chief Scientific Officer of Ceres, Inc. Presentation
Session “Plant Science in Europe – Science Policy” Chair: Wilhelm Gruissem, Zürich, CH
1. Timothy Hall European Commission Acting Director of Directorate Food, Agriculture, Fisheries and Biotechnology, DG Research The knowledge-based bio-economy from a “plant” perspective		2. Babis Savakis, Senior Advisor to the President of the European Research Council (ERC) A benchmark for frontier research funding in Europe (awaited)
3. Wilhelm Gruissem, President of European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO) Plant science in Europe – Breaking new ground		2. Mike Gale, Member of the CGIAR Science Council Grain for food – the breeding challenge
The welcome reception at the beautiful surroundings of the Cote d'Azur brought the opening day to an inspiring close.