Please do NOT register for the conference until you have received notice about your Travel Grant. Announcements will be made by March 1, 2010

Travel Grants will be issued to conference participants with proven need of financial assistance for attending the conference including travel to and from Tbilisi, Georgia, and related expenses.

In order to support maximum number of participants it is intended that each travel grant contribute toward covering only a portion of the total expenses of applicant’s attendance. Full coverage of the expenses will only be granted in a highly exceptional case. Decisions will be made in accordance of the eligibility criteria and guidelines outlined below and the amount of funding will be determined based on estimated costs for travel to Georgia from the applicant’s home country or point of departure.

We intend to support up to 30 delegates. Since, one of the objectives of the upcoming Conference is to facilitate the dialogue between the West and the East we have decided to encourage the participation from previously underrepresented countries. Therefore the countries of the southern part of, so called, Caucasus Eco-region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey) and other bear range countries of former USSR will have guaranteed quotas for travel grants (17 travel grants in total) according to the following scheme:

Country	No. of sponsored participants
Armenia	1
Azerbaijan	1
Iran	1
Turkey	1
Russia	5 (ideally each representing one of the 5 regions of the country in respect of bear species distribution)
Ukraine	1
Belorussia	1
Moldova	1
Turkmenistan	1
Kazakhstan	1
Uzbekistan	1
Tajikistan	1
Kirgizstan	1

However, the above scheme does not imply that any applicant from one of the above listed countries will be automatically granted financial assistance. The decisions will be made on a case by case basis and it will largely depend on the applicant’s specific field of research, the importance and relevance of the information s/he will be communicating and sharing with other conference delegates and also on their clearly demonstrated motivation to participate in the IBA 2010 and the ability to contribute to its goals and objectives.

Part of the available funds as well as any remaining funds will be used to issue up to 13 travel grants to the representatives of other less developed countries. Again priority will be given to those:

- intending to deliver an oral or poster presentation , or to facilitate a workshop. - demonstrate matching funds (personal or otherwise) for conference attendance.

Return application to Mr. Bejan Lortkipanidze (click here >>>), or fax him at +995 32 53 71 24 (or +995 32 55 02 08)

Deadline for submission of travel grants is on February 15, 2010

Applicants will receive notification by March 1, 2010

Once notice has been received regarding the approval or denial of a travel grant, applicants are kindly requested NOT to re-submit or request an additional review. Applicants should be prepared to seek additional travel funds elsewhere in the event that IBA Tbilisi Conference Grants’ Sub-Committee cannot fund the request.

Important: All Travel Grants will be handled in Euros, and will be delivered to participants upon their arrival to the conference. Please note that registration fees will be deducted from the original Travel Grant amount.

Download Travel Grant Application Form (click here >>> for MS Word format)

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