On behalf of the organizing committee I am delighted to invite you to participate in the 2017 ISRM European Rock Mechanics Symposium (EUROCK 2017) to be held in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on June 19-22, 2017. This Symposium is the common endeavour of the Institute of Geonics of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Czech National Group of the ISRM, who are doing their best to organize a pleasant and valuable event.
We have prepared an appealing program with a good number of keynote lectures by some of the world’s leading experts on rock mechanics. Three short workshops will also take place before the Symposium and some visits to different attractive mine and civil engineering works are in preparation for the aftermath.
You will also have the opportunity to visit our town and region. The Moravian-Silesian Region is located in the most eastern part of the Czech Republic, about 300 km as the crow flies from the centre of Prague. However, it is only 1 hour by air, 3 hours by rail and 4 hours by road. Ostrava, the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the heart of the Moravian-Silesian Region, is located in the north-eastern part of the country. It is situated near the Slovak and Polish border on the banks of the Ostravice River overlooking the beautiful mountains of Beskydy. Ostrava has only recently lost the face of a typically industrial city. The coal mining finally ended there in 1994. The industrial heritage is a unique jewel of architecture. Instead of original mines, there are mining museums now and there are a number of closed metallurgical buildings waiting to be innovatively reused. Besides the technical heritage, the city offers its visitors many cultural and historical attractions, as well as other sights that allow tourists to enjoy a pleasant day full of exceptional experiences. You can look forward to experiencing the legendary Czech hospitality, as well as the excellent Czech cuisine. You will fall in love with the taste and aroma of known and unknown specialties typical of this region.
It is a special honour for me to host the Symposium EUROCK for the second time in the Czech Republic after the event in 2005 (EUROCK 2005 in Brno city) and I strongly hope that an exciting program and the charms of this beautiful central part of Europe will contribute to make the Symposium a successful and unforgettable event. 
I am looking forward to meeting you in Ostrava in June 2017.