Georgia is on a crossroad of the West and the East. Therefore one of the main objectives of the Tbilisi conference is to promote dialogue between bear specialists of the West and the East. We will try our best to bring more scientists and conservationists from previously underrepresented countries (e.g. Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, other former USSR countries, etc) to meet their counterparts from the West to share their experiences, discuss and possibly plan future cooperation in the fields of bear research and management.

The official language of the Conference is English. But as we expect to have many delegates from former USSR countries, the conference will provide simultaneous translation into English for all Russian-language oral presentations. We will also try our best to have interpreters around during the sessions and coffee-breaks to facilitate contacts between English and Russian speaking delegates.