SESAME COUNCIL Interim Council

    The idea of an international synchrotron source in the Middle East was first proposed in 1997 by H. Winick (SLAC) and G.-A.Voss (DESY) and elaborated with Ernst Weihreter (Bessy).

The project was developed with the support and participation of the CERN-based MESC (Middle East Scientific Cooperation) group - headed by S. Fubini and H. Schopper and including scientists from the interested region and other countries.

The plan was brought to the attention of Federico Mayor, Director General of UNESCO, who expressed his enthusiastic support; in June 1999, he called a meeting of delegates from the Middle East and other areas at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

The delegations unanimously adopted a resolution launching the project. An interim Council was created (all interested countries are cordially invited to join it), assisted by four committees: the Technical Committee for the source, the Scientific Committee for its utilization, the Training Committee for the preparation of personnel and users, and the Financial Committee to identify funding sources.

The composition of the Interim Council and of its committees is the best evidence of the international character and level of the project - and a guarantee for its success.