Agents (adaptive or intelligent agents and multi-agent systems) are one of the most prominent and attractive technologies in Computer Science at the beginning of the new century. Agent and MAS technologies, methods,and theories are currently contributing to many diverse domains such as information retrieval, user interface design, robotics, electronic commerce, computer mediated collaboration, computer games, education and training, smart environments, ubiquitous computers, social simulation, etc. They are not only a very promising technology, they are emerging as a new way of thinking, a conceptual paradigm for analyzing problems and for designing systems, for dealing with complexity, distribution and interactivity, and perhaps a new perspective on computing and intelligence. Yet to realize this promise further advances are required in agent architectures, languages, theories, and design techniques. To accept this challenge, three very successful and high level events — AA (the International Conference on Autonomous Agents), ICMAS (theInternational Conference on Multi-Agent Systems), and ATAL (the International Workshop on Agent Theories, Architectures, and Languages) — have decided to build on their past successes and converge in 2002 ina Joint Conference. The aims of this joint venture are: to strengthen the relationships within the broader Agent community, to enhance quality while promoting innovation, to encourage richer exchanges between theoretical and experimental research and applications, modelling and engineering, and between the micro and the macro levels of agent design, and to foster collaboration between information science and technology and the cognitive and social sciences.