BICC (Bonn International Center for Conversion) will be 15 years old in 2009. It was founded in 1994 on the initiative of the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).

With our Annual Report 2008/2009, we want to inform you about BICC's current activities in the fields of applied research, advisory services and training at the nexus between peace and development worldwide. Unfortunately, many of the hopes, which were placed in the term 'conversion' 15 years ago have not been realized. This is demonstrated in the data part of the Annual Report, which shows worldwide trends in defense expenditure, armed conflict and militarization.