Age - old problems

C ARDIFF’S magnificent City Hall played host to this year’s Annual Conference. Five hundred delegates attended the first new-format conference designed to be a shop window for the best of British and international psychology. Feedback from members over past years has led to a shorter, more intensive and higherquality event with a smaller number of sessions taking place at the same time (for this year’s feedback go to www.bps.org.uk/ac2006). A series of themed symposium sessions provided fertile ground for new developments where experts were brought together to exchange ideas and approaches.These were linked and chaired by high-profile keynote speakers who showcased the latest research from across the discipline.Angela Clow, Chair of the Society’s Conference Committee, said: ‘The Annual Conference has always forged links between researchers and practitioners, but this year this seemed especially true: I think the new format and themed poster sessions worked really well.With no competing parallel sessions, lots of delegates came to see the posters, which were excellent – and we started a new poster prize, awarded for a combination of excellent science and presentation.’ The historic city of York is to host next year’s conference. Members have been encouraged to nominate keynote speakers through BPS subsystems.These will be supported by invited symposia centred on the keynote themes. Many of the award lectures will appear as articles in future issues, but for now the following pages give you a taste of some of the other talks. In addition, as part of our continued integration of our print and web offerings, you can find many more reports by going to www.thepsychologist.org.uk and clicking on ‘this month’s issue’. 2006 Annual