The IAHS/UNESCO 8th Kovacs Colloquium, a contribution to the joint UNESCO/WMO International Flood Initiative (IFI), will be held at UNESCO headquarters on 30 June and 1 July, just before the 17th session of the IHP Intergovernmental Council. Presentations on flood research will be given by invited keynote speakers, and ample time will be allocated for discussion, questions and answers. The Colloquium papers will appear in a pre-meeting publication of the IAHS Red Books series. The discussions during the Colloquium will later be reported in an issue of the IAHS Hydrological Sciences Journal.