On 8, 9, and 10 of May 2003 the "5th European Colloquium on Ethnopharmacology: The cultural interbreeding in ethnopharmacology: from indigenous to scientific knowledges" will take place in Valencia, Spain: "Conceiving of science as a unique social and cultural product of Occidental civilisation is unfortunate. Many kinds of knowledge and practices related to health and disease have enjoyed currency across space and time in all human societies. Exchanges between the diverse visions of nature have advanced and continue to advance the wellbeing of humankind; medical exchanges can and should become advantageous and profitable for all. The International Congress, 5th European Colloquium on Ethnopharmacology, has been organised in this light, thus titled The cultural interbreeding in ethnopharmacology: from indigenous to scientific knowledges. Since we do not understand the cultural exchange to be unidirectional, we expect “interbreeding” to become the protagonist during the scientific development of the meeting. One of our goals is to establish, from a critical point of view, a model for communication and exchange between developed and developing countries concerning uses of natural remedies for public health. With that purpose, we intend to map the current state of scientific studies about medicinal properties of plants used by indigenous populations, as well as European folk medicinal plants; to map the current state of cataloguing indigenous floras; to study the possibilities of exploitation of the natural healing products of each world region by NGOs, and to continue with the study of the legislative framework in each country of the EC regarding safety control, sale and consumption of phytodrugs. It is our aim for the different approaches and points of view in the colloquium to continue the spirit of diversity in which ethnopharmacology emerged. Consistent with the intellectual plurality of this field of study, we anticipate that work shall be presented in terms of the subject-matter constituting the diverse disciplines contributing to ethnopharmacology, notably botany, pharmacology, ethnology, history, chemistry, medicine, and pharmacy, avoiding reductionism in approaches from any single science." See the website for indepth information, map of Valencia, and the preliminary program, downloadable as .pdfs in English and Spanish.

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