First announcement of a 2018 IGU thematic conference to be held in celebration of the centenary of the Institute of Geography at the Russian Academy of Sciences Important dates 01.10.2017 – deadline for sessions submission; opening of registration and abstracts submission 15.01.2018 – deadline for abstracts submission 20.02.2018 – decision on paper acceptance; early bird registration opens 15.04.2018 – preliminary programme published 20.04.2018 – early bird registration closes 04.06.2018 – Conference «Practical geography and XXI century challenges»