FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT On July 4-6 (Tuesday-Thursday) 2000, a conference on "categorical topological methods" will take place at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland under the title "CATOP 2000", organized by H.-P. Kuenzi (Bern) and E. Ruh (Fribourg). Invited lectures will be given by: Arhangel'ski (Moscow, Russia), Barr (McGill, Montreal, Canada), Clementino (Coimbra, Portugal), Hess (ETH Lausanne, Switzerland), Lowen (Antwerp, Belgium), Priestley (Oxford, England), Pumpluen (Hagen, Germany), Watson (York, Canada). Further information on registration and accommodation as well as on the definite program will be contained in a second announcement.