A time of important preparation for the future—IYR, EPMR, strategic planning, funding shortages, IRRI-CIMMYT alliance. International Year of Rice 2004. With the 16 December 2002 announcement that the 57th Session of the UN General Assembly had adopted 2004 as the International Year of Rice (IYR), 2003 was a busy year of preparation at IRRI. We formed international and institutional committees composed of selected IRRI staff members. The International Committee developed plans and budgets for 2004 events such as the International Rice Science Conference in Korea (13-15 September), the Fourth International Crop Science Conference in Australia (26 September-1 October), the Mekong Rice Conference in Vietnam (15-17 October), the World Rice Research Conference in Japan (4-7 November), the ASEAN AMAF Meeting in Myanmar and Summit in Laos, the CGIAR AGM in Mexico, the McNamara Lecture in Tokyo, the FAO Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference in Beijing, and various IRRI workshops and seminars.