Dstl will host the 23rd CWD conference, bringing together international experts to achieve a future free from chemical weapons. This year’s event will be held virtually on 2nd to 4th November 2021 from 12 noon to 2.30pm GMT daily and an early-bird discount is available for all registrations before 10th September 2021.

The organisers took the unavoidable decision to cancel CWD 2020 due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and had hoped to hold CWD 2021 as an in-person conference. However, the emergence of the Delta COVID-19 variant in the UK, along with restrictions on international travel, has resulted in increased uncertainty around holding a major in-person event with an international audience. CWD 2021 will be held virtually, with the intention of returning to physical conferences from CWD 2022, next May.

The virtual conference programme will take into account the changing demilitarisation landscape, including new threats, technical challenges and the approaching completion of destruction of declared chemical weapons stockpiles. Its scope will also include wider science and technology issues related to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), including chemical analysis and forensics.

Sessions will be held from 12-2.30pm GMT on 2nd, 3rd and 4th November 2021 and all presentations can be accessed on demand on the virtual platform during, and after, the conference. The three days of presentations will be an ample opportunity for discussion and networking as it will be attended by representatives of governments, industry, academia and the armed forces and is open to anyone with a relevant interest in CWD.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-science-and-technology-laboratory