A series of two meetings under the general title of Solar Cycle and Space Weather Euroconferences (SOLSPA) has been approved by the European Union for the years 2000 and 2001. The series is aimed at gathering, around selected topics of interest to solar physics, senior and junior researchers (from both the theoretical and the observational fields) and instrument technology experts, for better profiting from new ideas and instrumentation. The European Union co-sponsors the series by funding half of the budget.

It is our pleasure to announce the second meeting of the series, titled: "Solar Cycle and Space Weather", that will be held in Vico Equense (Napoli, Italy) from 25th to 29th September, 2001. The focus of this second Euroconference will be on theory and observations of the solar activity phenomena during the cycle and their influence on the heliosphere, in particular the near-earth environment. The meeting is taking place around the time of solar maximum, hence it will be nicely timed to present and discuss a wide range of solar and geomagnetic events and their influence on human activities and space technology.

A powerful fleet of strategically positioned spacecraft, both in operation (Yohkoh, SOHO, TRACE, Ulysses, Cluster, IMAGE, WIND) and planned for launch in the next future (CORONAS, HESSI, STEREO) will provide new results to be presented during the conference. As well known, Cluster together with SOHO comprise the Solar Terrestrian Science Programme, the first Corner stone of the ESA 2000 Programme. New ground based solar telescopes and instruments, including world-wide networks of synoptic observations, will supply high resolution images and vector magnetic field to complement the spacecrafts capabilities.

The conference program will be roughly divided in four major topics: Solar drivers; Propagation of disturbances through space; Near-earth (geomagnetic) effects; Space weather impact. A special session on National Initiatives on Space Weather will conclude the meeting.

The meeting aims at bringing together different categories of researchers such as solar and heliospheric physicists, and involving industrialists interested in solar effects on telecommunications, aerospace hardware andnew technology in general. The participation of young researchers, post doctoral and PhD students will strongly be encouraged and supported. Their active participation in this highly interdisciplinary science will be sought and promoted.

Further information on the meeting, including the preliminary scientific program, pre-registration forms, and T&A grant requests can be found at