The  15th International Congress on Electron Microscopy was hosted by The Microscopy Society of Southern Africa in Durban, South Africa from September 1-6, 2002

This event was attended by more than 1200 scientific delegates and trade exhibition personnel, and has been widely regarded as having been a great success. During the five days of the congress there were 5 plenary lectures by world experts on different aspects of microscope technique, application and technology, one public lecture on the virus causing HIV/AIDS, an IFSEM symposium on general developments and trends in microscopy, and nearly 1200 submitted oral or poster presentations. The trade exhibition included displays and demonstrations of instrumentation, ancillary equipment and consumables by 43 companies. There was also an extensive social programme and activities for accompanying persons.