The 57th General Assembly of the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF) took place on May 15–16, 2025, at the picturesque Abbaye de Neumünster in Luxembourg. Hosted by the Musée national d’histoire naturelle (MNHNL) and its Director, Patrick Michaely, the event combined historic charm with efficient organization—thanks to the outstanding efforts of the Luxembourg team, who made everyone feel warmly welcomed and right at home.
This edition of the General Assembly made history with record-breaking attendance, reflecting a growing enthusiasm and commitment across the CETAF community. From energising networking sessions to focused working group meetings, CETAF57 was a space for collaboration, discussion, and strategic planning.
One of the main themes of the assembly was the rollout of the CETAF Strategy 2025–2030. Participants engaged in in-depth conversations about aligning institutional efforts with this shared strategic roadmap, ensuring unified progress toward common goals in taxonomy and biodiversity research.
A key takeaway? The Working Groups are set to play a critical role in driving the strategy forward. Their contributions will be instrumental in turning CETAF’s vision into measurable outcomes across the scientific and policy landscapes.
CETAF57 provided a platform for each Working Group to share progress and future plans. While some groups have already developed their Chartas to guide upcoming work, others are looking to reinvigorate their activities. Regardless of where they stand, all groups are seen as essential vehicles for advancing CETAF’s long-term strategic objectives.
Discussions spanned several key areas, including biodiversity policy, monitoring invasive species, and building taxonomic capacity.
The discussion panel animated the community to reflect on the active role the museums could have in tackling some of the most urgent environmental challenges facing Europe and beyond.
The assembly also featured important administrative updates, including reports from the General Secretariat and planning for future events. These sessions ensured transparency in CETAF’s governance and offered a space for thoughtful, forward-looking discussion.
Our looking-ahead is also towards the next generation of taxonomists: we announced the winner of our 6th CETAF E-SCoRe Award: Panagiotis Kampouridis, who won the prize thanks to his research on extinct large herbivorous odd-toed mammals.
A Growing Community: Welcoming New Members
One of the most exciting developments from CETAF57 was the admission of two new member institutions:
We’re thrilled to welcome these institutions to the CETAF network and look forward to sharing more about them in the coming weeks.
The momentum from CETAF57 sets the stage for the next big event: the second Directors’ Summit, taking place in November in Berlin, hosted by the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum. It’s shaping up to be another milestone in CETAF’s ongoing journey to support taxonomy, biodiversity, and scientific collaboration across Europe.
Stay tuned for more updates, member spotlights, and working group stories in the coming weeks. Until then, thank you to everyone who made CETAF57 such a meaningful and memorable event!
