RILEM NEWSLETTER - SPECIAL ISSUE  
 
 
From the RILEM PRESIDENTS and the Secretariat General TEAM
 

An incredibly challenging year is almost finished. This is the time to look back, to celebrate our successes and to assess our accomplishments.
 
We lived an exciting Spring Convention “in” Guimaraes, successfully turned from an in-person to a hybrid event within a couple of hours. We greeted and smiled at friends and colleagues through our webcams at the Annual Week “in” Sheffield, the first fully online RILEM event.
 
Although the tough work conditions dictated by this pandemic, the activities of our members have not stopped. We have announced many new Technical Committees and new initiatives – like GLOBE, the ROC&TOK webinars and the RILEM Youth Council.
 
The publication rate of Materials and Structures and RILEM Technical Letters has not been affected by the COVID situation. Our two journals have continued to publish outstanding papers authored by our members and the wider scientific community. Many other publications have been produced in the last 12 months, like conference proceedings and State-of-the-Art reports.
 
We have welcomed new corporate members, renewed international partnerships and made new partners!
 
This is also the time to look forward! RILEM is turning 75 in 2021! The 75th RILEM Anniversary booklet is now finished and ready to be distributed next year!
 
We await with pleasure to meet you in April next year "in" Paris, France, at the RILEM Spring Convention and the RILEM Strategy Workshop. The following appointment is "in" Merida, Mexico, for the 75th RILEM Annual Week, in September 2021. Both occurrences are currently scheduled as hybrid events but we do hope to be able to shake hands again!
 
We send our best wishes and good thoughts for a new year starting very soon. Let it be another productive year together, marked by new collaborations and friendships, new projects and achievements, but more importantly by peace and health. 

 
 
 
The RILEM newsletter BITS&BOBS stands for Bright In-house Talks and Statements & Brilliant Outsourced Businesses and Stories.