IFSR Newsletter 2005 Vol. 23 No. 1 December
Like many other well known organisations the IFSR was born in one of the coffee houses and pubs in Vienna. Those were exciting times. The founding of the IFSR provided a much needed platform. It prevented the development of any ‘system wars’ that might have arisen in analogy to the science wars elsewhere. It contributed to the establishment of a fertile and varied systems science.
Looking back I feel happy to have been able to participate in these developments (as one of the founding fathers) and to have been allowed to contribute as its first secretary treasurer. As such I remember the financial support from the Austrian Government with gratitude. Many activities were made possible, including the start of the Journal for Systems Research and Behavioral Science.
Looking back – not only as first secretary treasurer, but also as past president and past editor-in-chief of the Journal – I am impressed by the present deep penetration of systems ideas in most areas of science. The IFSR and its members have a right to be proud of the way it has expanded on what systems founders like Von Bertalanffy and Churchman set in motion.
I congratulate the present members and their officers for continuing this good work and I wish them all the best for the coming next quarter century.
Gerard deZeeuw
