We appreciate any additional remarks and suggestions: appmath@imath.kiev.ua
Marc de Montigny
I attended Symmetry 2003, and I have nothing but praises for it! The organization was fantastic: nice and efficient team, great schedule of presentations, great proceedings published within a few months of the conference, nice and free computer access during the conference, hotels within 20 min. walk and near nice touristic areas, etc. You just thought of everything, just like my mother! Kyiv is a great cultural, hospitable, lively, city. The Opera House (and its programme) is beyond description: it is rich in great Classics! I love Kyiv! There are many restaurants, in particular, this very convenient cafeteria at five minutes walk from the conference site. During the evening, there are many cafes and bars where one can discuss with colleagues. The social activities (banquets, tours, boat trip) were unforgettable. Scientifically speaking, it is most interesting that Kyiv lies on the border between western and eastern countries.
My only suggestion would be to provide a list of Internet Cafes (if any) near your Institute.
Dmitri Vassiliev
The conference "Symmetry in Nonlinear Mathematical Physics" (Kyiv, 2003) was organised in the most efficient and pleasant manner. In fact, it was one of the best organised conferences I ever attended. Many thanks to the organisers!
And Kiev overall left a very good impression on me. In particular, self-service restaurants were so good that I was afraid to approach my bathroom scales upon my return to the UK.
Miloslav Znojil
Your conference was beyond all limits of perfection. For this reason I suggest that you make, on purpose, some mistakes in organizing its 2005 continuation. Just to make its organizers look more human! :-)
Iosif Khriplovich
Let me take the opportunity to say again that the hospitality, well-wishing and efficiency of the organizers of Symmetry-2003 was fantastic. And Kiev is just marvellous.
Maria Koleva
It was a really very well organised conference on very good scientific level. Publications of the Procedings both in hard copy and electronic form is a good idea to enlarge the audience of the Conference. In particular, I like very much the "guidings" issued on the conference web-site about the Kyiv, its sightseengs, how to rich them, the prices in the restorants, fast foods etc. I appreciate the good will to provide partial financial support to people from the countries where it is a problem. In my case, this made my attendance possible.
I think that your collaborators are right: asking people is a statistical process though it might look like fishing compliments.
My comments are grounded on my expirience as a scientist from a eastern european country. I now that is difficult to make good scientists to participate an eastern conference, to find save and comfortable accomodation on reasonable price for everybody. That is why the idea to orginize the conference downtown Kiev is OK: it is well orginised part of the town.
I think that the major problem in any eastern european country is the communication with the local people because only a few of them speak english. And as a rule only the central part of the main towns and resorts are well orginised and save. I personaly encountered the problem. Because I speak Russian, I was asked several times to help participants with the hotel staffs and pharmacies on minor problems. It turned out that neither staff speaks english. My advise in this direction is to orginise the conference at such places that foreigniers would not have problems with communication with local people.
Serge Perrine
I have enjoyed very much the conferences Symmetry-2003. I gave me ideas to progress on subjects I was thinking about. I attended to bright conferences. Some of course was were less interesting for me, but the whole programm was so important that I could find every day something interesting fo me. I was very pleased to be able to choose. The discussion I had were also very interesting. I got friends, some of them I went to meet in january in Portugal, and who will come in Paris this week. The discover of Kyiv was also for me something very important. I love reading Boulgakov, I was very glad to discover his house in your city. It was for me the first time that I visited the city. I realize how european you are, and also the importance you have toward Orient. And this was for me a discover, though I knew very well the history. I appreciated also to go to your theater and to hear "'La dame de pique". It was for me very important. Your city is a bright one, where I could imagine to live. I was enthousiastic of the kindness and the youth of your population, promissing for the future To discuss my subject in Kyiv gave me the occasion to progress. I know now the precise meaning of the equations I presented in Kiev : these are only a disguised form of the Laplacian of the Poincaré half plane. It was a pleasure to meet you, and it is also a pleasure to say how I appreciated kindness and bright organization.
Here, in France, for professionnal uses, we currently ask for the feelings
of the participants to meetings. It is sometimes hard to suffer for the
people who have organized, but the idea is to improve for the next meeting.
Really, I found the city of Kiyv very interesting and bright. I went some
years ago to Saint Petersbourg, and the feelings of dangerousity were less
for me in your town. So it was for me in some parts of american cities.
The cultural flavour I could taste in Kyiv was a real pleasure. As for
the good restrants, I remember the situation of Spain twenty years ago,
or the situation of China where I went for the International Mathematician
Congress. They were worst than what I saw in your town. Of course they
are differences with the situation we have in our country. But it moves
everywhere. When peace is present, the economic development can take place.
I am quite sure that your population can do great progress. I did not realized
why it could not be accessible for you as it was for us. Nothing comes
without efforts. But your population seems young and full of possibilities.
The scientific level and the historical past are very bright. I had not
enough time to study the precise economical situation of the whole country,
but I got positive feelings when visiting. Of course I thought
to Tchernobyl, asking to me what could be the situation in the whole
region. I could not have any idea of it because I stayed in the town.
I omitted also to say that the documents giving the different contributions are very good. I look at them with pleasure. Also the Internet site was good as the for the help for writting the documents.
Another point, for the exposition of books, many of them were in russian. I could have appreciated to be able to access to more East mathemtics in english. It is the only point I found possible to improve.
Delfim F.M. Torres
In my opinion the organization was perfect. I am glad to know that you plan to organize the conference in the Future.
Just a suggestion: I think the scientific level of the Proceedings is good, and I think the Proceedings deserve to participate in all major science citation indexes: AMS Mathematical Reviews, Zentralblatt MATH, etc. I really think this would be of great importance.
Yuri Berest
The Symmetry conference you organized in Kiev in 2003 was great. I was impressed by the number and variety of participants, the level of organization and the quality of the proceedings... And, of course, the city was simply beyond my expectations: very clean, very friendly and very beautiful. The first (and unfortunately, the last) time I visited Kiev when I was 7 (i.e more than 25 year ago). Last summer, during the conference, I had a chance to walk around its streets and enjoy its views again. It was an unforgettable experience: I am still full of impressions ...
Robert Carroll
The 2003 conference was very well composed and my wife and I enjoyed the whole experience very much.
On the plus side: (i) A nice selection of talks and participants. (ii) Kiev is a lovely city.
On the minus side: (i) My wife would have welcomed a more extensive social program. (ii) A number of people who were listed as participants in advance did not come (this has nothing to do with SARS). This may be a device to attract other people but it was disappointing since I had hoped to talk with some of these people.
Overall it was a plus and I'm grateful for the opportunity you provided.
Anvar Kacimov
Your 2003 Conference was well organised in all senses. I enjoyed it very much and will definitely share my high opinion of it with my colleagues. I have only one suggestion for your future cultural program: Kyev has fabulous cultural and historical heritage and mileau. During the Conference I and my family enjoyed greatly the theaters (opera, Lesi Ukrainki), exhibitions and museums (one of them with a unique collection of geological samples is few hundred meters from your Institute as well as a wonderfull artgallery). In the city museum of Kiev and in the museum of your University I found many intersting items. You might consider including (in the next Conference brochure and webpage) a couple of links to the websites of Kyev theaters, museums and art galleries. I wish you success in your endeavours.
As regard evaluation of your Conference, I am sure that nobody will consider them as flattering or fishing for compliments. In the future I would recommend a standard survey of the participants. For instance, in our conferences and workshops in Oman on the last day we distribute questionnaries (a sample copy is attached) and collect opinions of the participants. This cheap action serves three goals. First, it highlights inevitable week points in the structure, content, logistics of the event. Second, if the conference is organised regularly (as yours) it gives a feeling of affiliation of the participants and their involvement in building the matrix of the entity- a simple sociological trick. At the opening ceremony of the next conference you can spent 2-3 minutes to show that the opinions and critical comments of the previous conference are taken into account (a couple of bar graphs, few numbers, etc.). Third, our students doing the survey learn how to use standard statistical packages.
Another point: you can consider a small award to the best paper presented by a young mathematician in your Conference. Although it calls for some efforts but makes the closing ceremony more vibrant. Besides, young researchers need motivation.
Regarding prejudices, I have already spread the message between my colleagues, especially in Russia: you are doing very good job and we, in Russia have to learn how the Ukrainain colleagues manage this. Again, the memory of Kiev is unforgetable. I have been to Kiev many times in the 80-th and 90-th and the city is now in a much better shape. The Bulgakov museum, Stolypin grave, Sikorskii's photos, National Gallery, gorgeous Dnepr views ... - next time- provide a link to correpsonding Internet sites. Please, let me thank your team again, I do wish you success in the next Conference!
Oleg Morozov
I was very impressed by the conference'2003. It was a very well organized meeting of high scientific level. The web site was enough informative, and it was a real help for me in my first visit to Kyiv, especially the information about hotels and their location. The help of your collegues in booking me a room in a hotel was of great importance to me. I'm also quite impressed by quick preparing and sending the proceedings.
I thank you and all your collegues very much for the conference'2003. I wish you success in preparing the next one. I hope to visit your beautiful city next Summer and participate in the Symmetry'2005.
I just can add that those who think life in Kyiv is wild or dangerous, are wrong. And especially I should mention that there are many good restaurants in the nearest neighborhood of the conference location with tasty high quality food. The city is a very beautiful and interesting place to visit. I was enjoyed my visit very much. I really have nothing to suggest about th