To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), a symposium was organized for the III Congress of the World Federation of Neuroscientists in Montreal to present, on 7 August 1991, the recollections of some of the early participants in IBRO's history and to place it in the context of other significant world organizations. Edited and slightly condensed transcripts of the talks together with the discussions are presented. L. Marshall reviewed the antecedent conferences that led to the Moscow Colloquium in 1958 and the subsequent formation of IBRO with UNESCO support. The ambience of that period for scientific organization on an international level was discussed by W. A. Rosenblith who emphasized how IBRO goals fitted into the rising interest in brain and behavior research. The scientific careers of six past executive secretaries were briefly reviewed by P. Gloor, with special tribute to the first, Herbert Jasper. One of IBRO's major achievements, the world survey of resources and needs in brain research, was described first-hand by G. Krauthamer. To discuss IBRO's image, C. Blakemore invoked the travails of reorganization and recovery from a period of inactivity. Finally, placing IBRO in a national and international context, S. Cozzens presented the perspective of the historian of sociology on an upbeat note.