The 59th General Assembly of the CETAF will take place from 27–29 May 2026 in Florence, hosted by the University of Florence – Sistema Museale di Ateneo.
Organised by the CETAF Secretariat together with the local organising committee, CETAF59 will bring together representatives from CETAF institutions, working groups, and partner initiatives to reflect on the implementation of the CETAF Strategy 2025–2030 and strengthen collaboration across the European taxonomic community.
This year’s General Assembly will focus on fostering interaction across the community to advance collective achievements and identify priorities for positioning CETAF within the broader European and global environmental landscape.
Day 1 – Strategic perspectives and community updates
The first day will open with welcomes from the University of Florence Rector, Prof. Alessandra Petrucci, and the President of the University Museum System, Prof. David Caramelli. Discussions will include presentations on the Italian Research Roadmap, the potential of ancient DNA for evolutionary studies, and updates from the CETAF Secretariat and Executive Committee.
The programme will also introduce new members joining the CETAF community (Arctic University Museum of Norway and the Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad) and highlight recent achievements and implementation strategies related to communication, advocacy, and community initiatives. The day will conclude with guided visits to the University collections, including the Botanical Garden, Herbarium, and Geological and Paleontological collections.
Day 2 – Working groups, collaboration and future developments
The second day will continue discussions on CETAF strategic implementation, partnerships, and future directions, including a keynote lecture addressing colonial collections and heritage.
Sessions throughout the day will focus on the integration of CETAF Working Groups, collaborative approaches to digital strategies for collections, developments in integrative taxonomy, and open discussions on e-learning and pre-print recommendations for taxonomic treatments.
Administrative sessions will cover CETAF annual accounts, future General Assembly formats, and preparations for upcoming meetings, including invitations to CETAF60 in Edinburgh and CETAF61 in Crete. Participants will also have the opportunity to visit La Specola collections and the Anthropology Museum.
Day 3 – Community initiatives and technical workshops
An optional third day will be dedicated to community development activities and technical workshops. Sessions will include training on the PlutoF collections management infrastructure, discussions on specimen metadata in Earth Sciences, and presentations of emerging community initiatives within the European research landscape.
Among these, the TETTRIs satellite initiative L.U.C.E. will present its work on improving knowledge of Europe’s understudied but charismatic fireflies.
The CETAF General Assembly remains a key moment for members to exchange updates, coordinate activities, and strengthen collaboration across the European taxonomic and natural science collections community.
For more details and the complete agenda, consult the full CETAF59 programme.