Exactly 25 years after the first Nutricia Symposium was held in Groningen, the Netherlands, dealing with fundamental aspects of neonatology, the 8th Nutricia Symposium was held at nearly the opposite end of the globe and dealt with a number of most important aspects of child nutrition in South East Asia. It was the intention of this symposium to bring together a respectable number of specialists in this field from the countries involved, complemented by a number of experts from outside the area chosen because of their recognised contributions to the main topics of the symposium. In this way, a platform for discussion and cooperation was provided to bring the specific problems of child nutrition in South East Asia closer to a solution. From the contents of the papers and also the valuable discus- sions, it should be clear to the reader that the goal of this symposium has been attained. It would have been difficult to find a place which was better suited for this symposium than Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The excellent work done by the several local committees in organising this symposium is greatly acknowledged, especially the efforts of Prof. H. Iskandar Wahidiyat, Prof. Darwin Karyadi, Prof. I.G.N. Gde Ranuh, Prof. Moelyono S. Trastotenoyo, Prof. S.H. Pudjiadi, Dr. Samsudin, Dr. Suharyono, Dr. Yati Sunarto and Dr. A.G. Soemantri need to be mentioned.