Funding the festival

The land of the red 'roo is a long hop from just about everywhere else in the world, so travel costs loomed large in Dr Phil Batterham's analysis of the cost of staging the world's largest genefest in Melbourne next year.

Batterham, convenor of the 19th International Congress of Genetics, estimates the cost of staging in the congress in Melbourne next July at an "absolute minimum" of $3 million.

With the congress expected to attract 3000 registrants, most from the northern hemisphere, it would take a registration fee of $1000 per person just to cover core costs, and Batterham says he wants to do more than that. Generous sponsorship was always going to be essential to the success of the congress.

"Had we advertised a registration rate of $1000 a head, we believe we would have had real problems attracting the numbers," he said.

"For a start, a $1000 registration fee would immediately prevent most students attending. It's critical for students to be able to participate, especially young Australians -- it's one of the reasons for holding it here in Melbourne.

"Had we created a concession for students, the full rate for other registrants would have been more than $1000. Add on the cost of air travel, which is significant, and you're caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Our need for sponsorship was very clear from the outset."

Batterham says he set a goal of raising at least half of the $3 million core cost of the Congress from sponsorships, which would lower the average registration cost to $500.

"Sponsorship has been very strong," he says, "but we still need more.

"We're absolutely delighted that market-leading companies have come on board, with cash or in-kind support.

"We have some of the major players in the genomics revolution, including Applied Biosystems, which provided all the sequencing instrumentation for the private and public human genome projects, and Hewlett-Packard, which provided the computing power for the analysis of the data from both projects.

"On the publishing front, the involvement of Science, the world's number one research journal, is critical to publicising the Congress internationally." Batterham says the contribution of the Victorian government, led by the Minster for Industry, Innovation and Regional Development Department, John Brumby, has been "absolutely magnificent".

"The Department gave us a cash grant to cover the early expenses of bringing the Congress to Melbourne - there are always substantial costs involved in the earliest stages of organisation.

"Mr Brumby helped us with the launch, but the support we have had from him and his department goes way beyond mere money. Life would have been very difficult without it , and I don't think any other state would have made such a strong up-front commitment."

With the basic cost of staging the Congress almost covered, Batterham says he is seeking further sponsorship for "optional extras that are really important to us."

Funds are needed to take elements or issues from the scientific program that are of special interest out to the community, through public events.

"We can do a great deal in terms of disseminating information about geneticists research, and facilitating dialogue between scientists and the community on thorny issues. But we need money to bring in speakers, pay for suitable venues, and to publicise and manage such events.

"We also have options to import a couple of really amazing displays.

"One is the Watson and Crick model of the DNA double helix, which would be a big public attraction because 2003 is the 50th anniversary of their discovery of the structure of DNA.

"Even more exciting, to my mind, is that we could bring out a historic exhibition of Gregor Mendel's pioneering discoveries in genetics from Brno, in the Czech Republic.

"But importing both these displays would entail significant costs, so we're looking for sponsors.

"We also need a major sponsor for a 'DNA Discovery Dinner' to celebrate one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time."

Batterham indicates that Congress organisers are very interested in social justice issues, and want to ensure that developing nations are represented at the Congress.

"We have set aside 50 free registrations for delegates from developing nations, and any free rooms we get on the basis of the large number of bookings we're making in Melbourne's hotels will be allocated to delegates from these countries," he says.

The total amount of sponsorship still needed, says Batterham, is around $500,000: "That would ensure that the Congress is secure as an entity, and offers some very attractive opportunities for companies to show what they do."

The one major disappointment, says Batterham, has been the complete lack of interest by Australia's airlines in offering meaningful benefits to the Congress or its delegates.

"It's unfortunate, but probably predictable in a market where one airline holds a virtual monopoly," he says.

Anyone interested in sponsoring the 19th International Congress of Genetics can ring Dr Batterham on (03) 8344 5157 or Melanie Yelland on (03) 9417 0888. Australian Biotechnology News is a major sponsor of the 19th International Congress of Genetics, and every week we will bring you the latest on speakers and the congress program. For more information, visit .