Dear ISAEW2021 Participants,

     On behalf of the Board of Directors of the International Research Center for Animal Welfare (IRCAW), we wish to extend a warm welcome to each of you, whether you are a returning veteran or a first-timer participant of this international symposium!

     Dating back to 2011 at the Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences (CAAS) in Rongchang, a group of researchers representing seven institutions in USA, Canada, The Netherlands, and Australia signed a historical Memorandum of Understanding to establish the IRCAW, headquartered at CAAS, with a goal to promote international collaboration and advance the knowledge of animal environment and welfare. This year marks the 10^th anniversary of the Center’s establishment. Today, 20 institutions representing 10 countries have joined the Center. During the past 10 years, the Center has held five international symposia and four center bi-annual meetings. The symposia have attracted thousands of academic scientists, graduate students, industry leaders and professionals, and government officials from more than 20 countries in six  continents. Among the notable invited participants were Dr. Norm Scott of Cornell University (member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering), Dr. Jim Roth of Iowa State University (member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine), Dr. Robert Easter of University of Illinois (former Chancellor of UIUC), Mr. Tom Hebert (former U.S. Undersecretary of Agriculture), and Dr. Cathie Woteki of Iowa State University (member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, former Chief Scientist of the White House, and former Dean of Iowa State University), and Mr. Jeff Aiken (President of the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation – the largest state farm bureau in the United States with nearly 680,000 members), Prof. Maohua Wang of China Agricultural University (member of the Chinese National Academy of Engineering), Prof. Xiwen Luo of South China Agricultural University (member of the Chinese National Academy of Engineering), and Prof. Defa Li of China Agricultural University (member of the Chinese National Academy of Engineering). Over 70 technical sessions were conducted, with publication of 266 research and review papers that composed six symposium proceedings.

     These international symposia and specialty workshops have provided a convergence platform for multi-disciplinary scientists from various parts of the world to jointly address global grand challenges through exchange of recent research findings, identification of current challenges and future research directions, and formation of synergistic focal groups to efficiently and effectively conduct translational research; train next-generation scientists and leaders; and promote on-farm adoption of technologies toward sustainably feeding the world. The characteristics of the symposia in terms of global relevancy of the subject matters addressed, innovative and cutting-edge nature of the research, quality of the presentations and publications, and unparalleled hospitality of the hosts have established the symposium one of the must-attend academic symposia, both nationally and internationally. The symposia have proven to be impactful in terms of advancing scientific knowledge, developing technologies applicable for adoption by farmers worldwide, training future leaders and workforce, and providing a roadmap for developing smart or digital livestock farming that will be critical to sustainably feed the world for generations to come.

     The afore-mentioned achievements would not have been possible without the unwavering support of the CAAS under the outstanding leadership of President Zuohua Liu. The tremendous collaborations and support by colleagues at China Agricultural University have been vital to the successes of the Center and are deeply appreciated.  

     Although the COVID-19 situation is improving to various degrees globally, it remains uncertain for overseas participants to travel to China and attend the symposium in person. Therefore, the symposium will offer a hybrid format (in-person for the domestic participants and online or video presentations for overseas attendees/contributors who are unable to attend in person).

     Wish ISAEW2021 a great success!