INVITATION POLICY FOR THE "VISIONS OF CRYPTOGRAPHY" WORKSHOP "Visions of Cryptography" is a highly specialized workshop focused on the *theory* of cryptography and its current frontiers. This may not be so clear by its name (which maybe should have been "Theoretical Visions of Cryptography" ), but is clearly reflected in its actual program (see http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/~oded/ssf.html). The workshop is intended for researchers that are active in the area or students that are on their way to becoming such. And, again, the relevant area is not cryptography at large, but rather the frontiers of the theory of cryptography. The problem with inviting people who do not fit the above profile is not the problem that arises from few such invitations, but rather from the general underlying policy which aims to guarantee such invitations (or rather attendees) are rare. The financial cost of each invitation and the room size are concerns, but not the main one. The main concern is the effect on the atmosphere in the workshop. In any real specialized workshop (unlike a conference), keeping a small size is crucial to allow good interaction, and ditto re strong uniformity/homogeneity of the group. (Things may be different in an "inter-disciplinary" workshop that has as it main goal to bridge gaps between research communities, but this is not the nature of the current workshop.) In light of the above, the invitation policy is: 1. Inviting only researchers that are active in the area or students that are on their way to becoming such. 2. Making exception only for Weizmann faculty, students, and affiliates. Oded P.S.: Let me stress that I am far from thinking that the theory of cryptography is irrelevant to cryptography at large or to other specialized areas of it. I do believe that the theory of cryptography can contribute to all areas of cryptography (including cryptanalysis). But I think that a specialized workshop focused on the evolving frontiers is not the right place to learn of an area. Indeed, while I canceled my class on "Foundations of Cryptography" scheduled for Dec 11th, I do not intend to encourage any student of that class to attend the workshop. (Of course, if any student will ask to be invited, I will invite him/her per the "affiliation with Weizmann" clause mentioned above.)