18TH CONGRESS OF THE INDO-PACIFIC PREHISTORY ASSOCIATION, UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, 20-26 MARCH 2006.

The 18th Congress of IPPA was held on the campus of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, hosted by the Archaeological Studies Program at the University of the Philippines, by the Archaeology Division at the National Museum of the Philippines, and by the W.G. Solheim II Foundation. Supporting grants were received from the Wenner-Gren Foundation (New York) and the Toyota Foundation (Japan). More than 300 delegates attended from a total of 32 countries, and over 300 papers were presented in four contemporary sessions (totalling 29 altogether) over 5 full days. Session topics covered the full range of Indo-Pacific archaeology, ranging from the Palaeolithic, through Neolithic, Bronze-Iron and early historical periods, into the second millennium AD. Sessions reflected both geographical and thematic foci, each chosen and chaired by one or more individuals. Many of the delegates were younger archaeologists who had not previously had the chance to attend an international congress outside their own country. This congress gave them international exposure to new networks, experience in presenting to a large international audience, and a strong likelihood of eventual publication of their paper (following refereeing) in the IPPA Bulletin series.

The conference was held in the meeting rooms and lecture halls of the National Institute of Science and Mathematics Education (NISMED) building on the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman campus in Quezon City. The main organisers were Peter Bellwood, who organised the academic program and financial support on behalf of IPPA, and Victor Paz of the Archaeological Studies Program (UP Diliman), who headed the Philippine Secretariat. Bellwood was assisted by Doreen Bowdery in the handling of prior conference registration and other administrative matters. Paz was assisted by a Philippine Secretariat composed mainly of UP graduate students, led by Leee Neri, Isa Campos and Rojo Padilla, who took care of all day-to-day activities during the meeting. The Archaeology Division of the National Museum of the Philippines also organised within-congress and post-congress tours for delegates.

The decision by the President of the Philippines to impose a state of nationwide emergency late in February caused us some problems, and at one point we planned to postpone the meeting until October 2006. Luckily, the emergency was lifted the next day and the decision was taken immediately to press ahead with our March date. Unfortunately, however, a small number of people cancelled their attendance due to this matter and all the associated uncertainty, but on the credit side we also acquired many new delegates who simply “turned up” without prior announcement. In fact, had all registered delegates come, we would have had some major problems with provision of sufficient on-campus accommodation. All in all, the meeting was a great success, beyond our expectations. We look forward to our next one, probably in 2010. Meanwhile, the immediate task revolves around the publication of our Manila Proceedings.