The first International Scientific Wadden Sea Symposium (ISWSS) was held in 1975. Since then, every few years a new edition is organised. The main aim of the symposia is to discuss the progress in research in the international Wadden Sea and to identify key challenges for both science and management of the Wadden Sea, since 2009 a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The organisation of the ISWSS alternates between the three Wadden countries. The12th ISWSS was held in 2009 in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The upcoming edition is organised by The Netherlands; the Wadden Academy has been invited by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality to take the lead in the organisation. Other partners that are member of the organising commitee you find here.

In the run-up to the 13th ISWSS, the international symposium Towards a trilateral research agenda was organised by the Waddenacademie in 2010 in Leeuwarden.