The Banff Television Foundation will for the first time manage the World Congress of Science Producers, to be held in Sydney, Australia Dec. 1-4 and hosted by the Australian Broadcasting Association.

In its eighth year, the conference attracts roughly 300 industry professionals, academics and journalists from around the world with a specific interest in creating science programming for tv and interactive media.

This year’s conference, tagged The New Generation, will address key issues such as new markets, new players and new formats.

Through seminars, screenings and master-class sessions, topics such as Science Meets Politics, What’s Hot in Australian Science? and Pushing the Interactive Envelope will be explored.

The conference will be led by a nine-member steering committee co-chaired by Paul Luis of Discovery Channel, Canada and Melanie Wallace of wgbh/nova. tvontario’s Wally Longul is also on the committee.

The btf produces the annual Banff Television Festival, the newly formed World Congress of History Producers and the Alliance Atlantis Banff Television Executive Program.

Six members from the Banff team will be on hand in Sydney to run the conference alongside Alison Leigh of Leigh Brown Productions, the foundation’s Australian representative. *

-www.scienceproducers.com