Welcome to the Pan-African Ornithological Congress (PAOC15)

16 – 20 November 2020
Elephant Hills Conference Centre
Victoria Falls
Zimbabwe

This website has been generously sponsored by The A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute (APLORI)

COVID19 UPDATE

In view of the current impact of COVID-19 across the globe and its continuing rapid development, the following factors are under careful review:

The unknown health risk for travellers in November 2020 is being considered
Many registrants, particularly students and those linked to universities, institutions and organizations may find it difficult to attend PAOC this year owing to travel bans.
With most universities having closed, only to re-open in August/September, travel arrangements, grants and funding are likely to be affected. Thus PAOC may not be able to meet its key objective of bringing people together from across the continent and further afield to share knowledge about African birds and to plan for their conservation.
The many uncertainties at this point in time continue to increase and it is difficult to predict what the situation will be later in the year

In light of these and other factors, there is now a reasonable chance that PAOC15 may need to be postponed, thus registration and abstract submission for PAOC15 have been suspended.

Another update on PAOC15 with further information will be communicated before 30 April 2020, including details for those who have already registered.

ABOUT PAOC

The Pan-African Ornithological Congress (PAOC) is held once every four years and it brings together hundreds of professional and dedicated amateur ornithologists. The Fifteenth PAOC (PAOC15) will be held from the 16th to the 20th of November 2020.

THE AIMS AND PURPOSES OF THE CONGRESS ARE:

To further the study of African birds
To promote the preservation of African birds as an integral part of the African Heritage
To foster the appreciation of birds and discussion of African birds in relation to man
To disseminate information on African birds through appropriate international meetings (e.g. the Congresses) and publications (e.g. the proceedings of the Congresses).

PAOC IS COMPRISED OF FOUR REGIONS

WESTERN REGION

Comprising of West Africa and associated islands east to Libya, Chad and Nigeria;

EASTERN REGION

CENTRAL REGION

SOUTHERN REGION

The PAOC is held in any one of the above listed regions of Africa and preference is given to alternating the regions and no region can host a Congress consecutively. To date, fourteen Congresses have been held with the maiden one held in 1957 in Livingstone, Zambia. The Fifteenth Pan-African Ornithological Congress (PAOC15) will be held from 16 to 20 November 2020 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe in the Southern African region.

WELCOME MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PAOC COMMITTEE

Dear Ornithologists, Colleagues and Friends,

On behalf of the Congress Committee, we warmly welcome you to the 15th Pan-African Ornithological Congress (PAOC), which will be hosted by BirdLife Zimbabwe between 16 and 20 November 2020 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The theme of the Congress is URBANISING AFRICA AND ITS EFFECTS ON BIRDS and we look forward to welcoming you to the beautiful Republic of Zimbabwe.

Over the last five decades and since the first congress that was held in Livingstone (Zambia) in 1957, the PAOC has made tremendous contributions to research and capacities, especially for early African career scientists and students, resulting in impacts in many bird conservation stories and achievements.

The host and sponsors of the 15th Pan-African Ornithological Congress are committed to enabling as many African and non-African biologists and ornithologists to attend the congress and present their research and conservation results.

The PAOC meets every 4 years and aims to further the study of African birds, to promote the preservation of African birds and their habitats as an integral part of African heritage and ecosystems, to foster the appreciation of birds and discussion of African birds in relation to humans, and to disseminate information on African birds through appropriate international meetings (Congresses) and publications (Proceedings of the Congresses).

An exciting programme is being developed for this congress that will allow attendees to reflect upon and celebrate our past accomplishments, renew friendships and extend our networks and jointly explore current and future research directions. We hope that you will have a productive and fun‐filled time at this very special congress

To put a congress of this magnitude together is not a small task. To that end, special thanks to:

the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry of Zimbabwe for their support
the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development of Zimbabwe for taking on the role of Chair of PAOC15,

and the PAOC Local Organizing Committee, the PAOC Secretariat and the PAOC Scientific Committee.

Further information about the congress is available at https://www.paoc15.org/

Pr. Sidi Imad Cherkaoui
Associate Professor
Ecole Supérieure de Technologie de Khénifra
(University of Soltane Moulay Slimane)
BP 170 Khénifra 54000
Morocco

Chair PAOC Committee

Draft Programme

Find the Draft programme for PAOC15 here