From 3rd to 9th October, La Cité Nantes Events Center and planetology specialists took up a double challenge, at regional and international levels.
During one week, Nantes became the planetology world capital while hosting the 1st EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting, an event fathered by the European Planetology Network and the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. Traditionally, the two organizations held two separate and different conventions two weeks apart. This time, they took up the challenge to create a joint event in France, with the expertise of the Laboratory of Planetology and Geodynamics (LGPNantes) based at Nantes University.
The challenge was a major success for the event as it brought together a much larger number of delegates than the 800 initially expected. In total, 1,535 scientists from 42 countries came to Nantes, including 550 delegates from America (the biggest representation), 296 from France French and 167 from Germany!
This exceptional edition featured an outstanding programme in line with Nantes creativity. The participants were enthralled by the amazing gala evening. After a cocktail party organized in the « Machines de l’Ile » gallery among giant marine creatures made of wood and iron, the 12 meter-high elephant walked the delegates down by the Loire where dinner was served aboard the Nantilus.
The event was a total success not only for the international scientific community but also for the public at large. The Meeting showcased an exhibition and 24 conferences open to the public, with the support of Nantes University, Nantes Métropole, the Pays de la Loire Regional Council, the Loire Atlantique County Council, the CNES and the CNRS. LGPNantes’ scientific expertise combined with the technical and scenic know-how of La Cité’s teams produced the « Planetary Voyages » exhibition, making La Cité like an ephemeral academy of sciences.
14,000 visitors including 2,000 schoolchildren had the opportunity to meet experts in planetology, astronomy and science history. They were shown models of space probes and explained the movement of robots on Mars. They were able to observe astronomical phenomena, the launch of micro-rockets, the inflatable planetarium and the CNES Spatiobus. History and imaginary worlds were also highlighted through old navigation instruments and artefacts related to Jules Verne’s futurist work. Last but not least, the conferences boasted the presence of some of the world’s top scientists, such as Jean-Loup Chrétien, the first Frenchman and Western European to go into space in 1982.
This double success was the result of a great human adventure starting in February 2009 between the teams of La Cité, German PCO Copernicus and Nantes University, spearheaded by Olivier Grasset, local project manager and Deputy Director of the Nantes Laboratory of Planetology and Geodynamics.
« As it was a pilot project for the two organisations, there were a couple of issues. It was somewhat difficult because it was the first time to have a joint meeting. Americans prefer plenary sessions, whereas Europeans prefer parallel sessions, so we were a little bit worried. We had to arrange to have a compromised facility, and flexibility was needed at all levels. On this matter, La Cité Nantes Events Center and the planners were marvellous.”
“We got many positive reviews. We organised a big banquet for the scientists and got the 12-meter high elephant to accompany the participants to dinner. This huge elephant walked with us along the harbour! It’s something the participants will never forget. Jim Green, Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters emailed me to say he would certainly be willing to come back for another joint meeting.”
Olivier Grasset, local host and Deputy Director of the Laboratory of Planetology and Geodynamics – University of Nantes.
« It was a wonderful experience and a great pleasure for us to be in Nantes and work with you. The excellent support during the EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2011 was absolutely outstanding.
The meeting would not have been such a great success without the excellent services delivered by La Cité.
In case you are not aware of the numbers yet: we had 1535 participants (!!!) from 42 different countries (first top three countries were the United States, France and Germany) and this does not even include the Press & Media people.
I have also recommended La Cité here in our company for future upcoming meetings. We will of course consider La Cité in case we are looking for a venue that can host a meeting exceeding 1000 participants. Usually, the decision about a venue is taken by the Scientific board and is not taken by us but we can of course recommend convention centres. However, we would definitely be delighted to return to Nantes. »
Mario Ebel, Conference Manager – Copernicus (Göttingen Germany)
