ISI - International Statistical Institute
Newsletter Volume 25, No. 3 (75) 2001

I think that I speak on behalf of all the participants when I open by saying that the 53^rd ISI Session in Seoul, Korea, which was held from 22 to 29 August was a resounding success. Over 2400 registered participants represented an absolute record of attendance, both as regards foreign participants (over 1,300) and local participants (about 1100). The strong local attendance can among other things be attributed to the presence of a statistics department in many of Koreas 161 universities and colleges.
The number of invited and contributed papers was another record, but as we all know, it is not just quantity that matters in scientific meetings. There was also ample evidence of high quality in many of the papers presented. The presentation by the two Nobel Prize winners for Economics, James J. Heckman and Daniel L. McFadden drew a record attendance. The participation of these two speakers was the result of a very rapid action on the part of past ISI-President Jean-Louis Bodin, who immediately after their Nobel Prizes had been publicly announced, successfully invited them to come to the Korean Session.

Our warm gratitude goes to the team of Commissioner "Y.D." Yoon and his team, easily recognisable by their bright green shirts, who have done a great job in meticulously preparing and carrying out their tasks as local organisers. Their collective efforts resulted in a smooth, well-organised meeting which left very little to chance and which was extremely well prepared.
Access to internet and E-mail has since the 1999 Helsinki Session become a standard feature of ISI Sessions, and the 160 computers made available for that purpose (see figure below) were mobilised to meet the communicative needs of the participants. The only criticism we heard was that the electronic message system was complicated to use, and that it was sometimes difficult to find a specific participant in the huge crowd roaming around in the equally huge COEX building.

The German organisers of the next ISI-Session feel challenged to match the Korean performance in terms of quantity and quality. We have confidence in their ability to organise another memorable Session.
Next to the scientific program, there were also a great number of administrative meetings resulting from the decision to adopt a one-week Session Formula, some of which had to be scheduled as early as 7.30 in the morning due to the very tight time schedule. I would like to report briefly about two agenda items discussed by the incoming Executive Committee of ISI under its new President, Dennis Trewin.

It now seems highly likely that in two years time, the first so-called Mahalanobis Prize will be awarded to a statistician from a developing country for his/her life time achievement in statistics at the 54^th ISI Session in Berlin. More details will be made available in the coming months.

It has also been decided to continue the program of the ISI Development Fund, but to change the rules under which it operates to some extent to attract more young participants, from a greater number of different countries, and to reserve a greater part of it to support participants in ISI-Sessions than was the case in the first "round" of two years. Details will be published soon on our website and in the next ISI Newsletter.

Among the various commercial exhibitors, Springer presented their new book "Statisticians of the Centuries", edited by Chris Heyde and Eugene Seneta, and initiated by the ISI. Members of ISI and its Sections can order it for the reduced price of US$ 26.47 (soft cover) or US$ 40.17 (hard cover).
I would like to conclude with the announcement that the ISI abstract publication Statistical Theory and Method Abstracts is now available on CD-ROM, including ten years of back issues, comprising a total of about 55,000 abstracts which can be searched in a variety of ways. An agreement proposed with Current Index in Statistics, a publication by ASA and IMS, to have a merged online publication of these two abstracting Journals within two years from now.

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