Toulouse wins the bid to hostThe 6th Global Forum on Tuberculosis Vaccines
February 22-24, 2022
Interview with Olivier Neyrolles and Isabelle Saves
You have submitted a bid to host an edition of the Global Forum on TB Vaccines in Toulouse. What motivated the decision to hold this project?
At the end of each edition, a few potential candidates for the organization of the next edition are identified. This is how Olivier Neyrolles, director of the IPBS-Toulouse, was asked to carry the candidature of Toulouse for France. The organization of the World Forum in Toulouse presents several opportunities, notably in terms of the visibility of Toulouse's scientific excellence, particularly in the field of health. We therefore embarked on a highly competitive and demanding selection process, which the Pink City was chosen as the host city for this 6th World Forum.
Initially scheduled to take place in 2021 in Toulouse, the 6th edition of the World Forum on Vaccines against Tuberculosis, postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will take place from February 22 to 24, 2022. This forum is the world's largest gathering of stakeholders in the research, development and implementation of new vaccines to prevent and/or treat tuberculosis. It brings together approximately 500 participants (researchers, clinicians, industrialists, NGOs and policy makers) from over 30 countries.
A unique opportunity to review the state of the field and identify innovative approaches to TB vaccine R&D and implementation, it represents a true space for dialogue with a program covering a full range of topics, from basic research to clinical trials, community engagement and advocacy.
What were the key steps in this project?
Once we had obtained the agreement of our institutional supervisors to carry out the bid, the selection process of the host city took place in two stages: 1/ the submission of a bid file elaborated with the CNRS and the University of Toulouse in partnership with the Toulouse Convention Bureau and 2/ an inspection visit of the organizers a few weeks later.
In addition to a well-founded demonstration of the impact of the organization of the forum in France, the application demonstrated the commitment and support of all the national players in the field (CNRS, Universities, Inserm, Institut Pasteur, ANRS, etc.) and the local institutions (Toulouse Metropole, Occitanie Region, Haute-Garonne Department, Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées Federal University, Toulouse University Hospital, etc.) We also received a very high level of political commitment with the high patronage of the President of the Republic, the patronage of the Minister of Solidarity and Health and the support of the Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.
Having been selected at this first stage, all that was left for Toulouse to do was to convince during the perfectly orchestrated site visit with the Convention Bureau (CVB). During this visit, the representatives of the international organizing consortium were able to meet with all the representatives of the regional institutions and visit the potential venues for the Forum.
What did the collaboration with CVB consist of?
The role of the CVB soon proved to be crucial in putting together the bid, finding the right partners and organizing the site visit. Thanks to the Convention Bureau, we were able to answer all our questions about the Forum site and the many services that were essential to the organization.
Finally, our joint work with the Convention Bureau demonstrated the strong support of Toulouse Metropole for hosting the World Forum.
Dr. Olivier Neyrolles, Director of IPBS-Toulouse: Olivier.Neyrolles@ipbs.fr
Dr Isabelle Saves, Head of International Cooperation: Isabelle.Saves@ipbs.fr
Press contact IPBS Françoise Viala | 06 01 26 52 59 | Communication@ipbs.fr
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