User:Iwcs martha/sandbox

International Wood Culture Society

International Wood Culture Society (also known as IWCS) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to the research, education and promotion of wood culture. It was officially established in 2007, and has now extended the operational network to at least 10(?) countries.

History
Beginning The former body ‘Woodlab.org’, established in China, had been operated as a platform for information and knowledge exchanges for few years prior to the establishment of IWCS. In February 2005, an important meeting within Woodlab.org reached a consensus that a non-profit organization would be established to embark on the research of wood culture and to ensure the sustainable use of wood products. In 2006, the first ‘International Wood Culture Conference’ held in Harbin, China had reaffirmed that wood culture would be the key to the sustainable future for forestry and wood industry. Next year, a crucial proposal to establish a non-profit organization in order to justify the legitimacy of the operation was pushed through in the 2nd International Wood Culture Conference. In July 2007, therefore, International Wood Culture Society (IWCS) was officially established in California. In search of affiliation to build up the network of worldwide operations, IWCS joined IUFRO (link) as a working party of wood culture in Division 5.

Timeline

2008
 * The 1st International Immaterial Wood Culture Conference was held in Beijing, collaborating with Beijing Forestry University

2009
 * Wood Culture Conference and Yunnan Wood Culture Exhibition were held in Yunnan, collaborating with Southwest Forestry University.

2010
 * IWCS chaired the Wood and Forest Culture session in the XXIII IUFRO World Congress in Seoul, Korea.
 * 2010 International Wood Culture Symposium – Ancient Wood Preservation, Restoration and Ancient Wood Cultural Industry was held in Shaanxi, collaborating with Northwest A&F University.

The 1st China-ASEAN International Wood Culture Forum was held in Guangxi. 2011
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2011 Global Wooden Door (Culture) Forum was held in March. International Conference on the Art and Joy of Wood was held in Bangalore, India, collaborating with FRI, FAO, IUFRO, and IWST in October. The Tour Program of the Experience project launched. The 4th Forest Culture Conference, co-organised with Beijing Forestry University and Southwest Forestry University, was held in Yunnan, followed by Wood and Forest Culture Tour. The 2nd China-ASEAN International Wood Culture Forum 2012
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Changbai Mountain International Wood Culture Conference and Tour in China. IWCS participated in IRG (The International Research Group on Wood Protection) 43rd Annual Meeting in May in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2012 IUFRO All Division 5 Conference in July, IWCS chaired a wood culture session in Lisbon, Portugal. The first designated large scale Wood Culture Tour in Europe covers Netherland, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Latvia in June, July and August. Preliminary Woodcraft competitions for 2013 World Wood Day Event were held in Cameroon, Kenya, Benin and Morocco in August. US Wood Culture Tour in September. International Wood Culture Symposium, co-organized with ZHEJIANG A&F University, was held in Lin’an, China including the first College Student Woodworking Competition in China. The 3rd China-ASEAN International Wood Culture Forum was held in Guangxi in November. 2013
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The first World Wood Day was celebrated in Tanzania on March 21st in a joint effort with international organisations and Tanzania Governmental bodies.