“The Roles of the Academies in Creating a Better World” is the topic of a 3-day gathering of the Presidents of National Academies and academic leaders from all over the world in celebrating the 80th birthday of Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s foremost research institution. The meeting will be held at Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan on December 6~8, 2008. The discussions will focus on three themes: “How should modern science academies be structured to best drive knowledge-based development?” “How can academies of different types best contribute to this effort?” and “How can the scientific community contribute to solutions to environmental problems?” (http://apforum.sinica.edu.tw/)