The Buffon International Symposium was held to the French Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (National Museum of Natural History) in Paris during October 18-19 2007 on the occasion of the tercentenary of the birth of Buffon, one of the great founding fathers of the scientific study of the diversity of life.

   Among the nine invited speakers, Dr. Chen Jin of XTBG was the only representative from Asia. Dr. Chen Jin delivered a speech entitled “Make Natural History institutes more relevant to local communities”, which attracted interests among the participants at the Symposium. 

  The Buffon International Symposium was co-organized by, together with French Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, the Natural History Museum, London (UK), the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK) and the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington (USA). More than 200 participants, including representatives of 93 natural history institutions and museums from 36 different countries and four continents discussed the following theme: “Natural History Museums and Institutions in the 21^st century: impact on our common future”.

The final message of the Symposium: "Buffon Declaration" was released.