Annual Conference Highlights: Collaboration and connection

On 17 September, 107 participants joined the EFI Secretariat in Prague, Czech Republic, for the EFI Annual Conference. 

The conference was organized together with our member organization Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, the Ministry of Agriculture of Czech Republic, Czech State Forests,the City of Prague and Prague Forests. 

Members enjoyed an interactive day, with sessions focused on member engagement, as well as exploring the forthcoming EFI Strategy 2040 and upcoming research agenda. 

The member engagement session highlighted what our member organisations valued most about their membership, and their priorities for collaborative activities for the coming years. Networking, collaboration and EFI’s role in bringing science to policy and practice were highly valued, with lively discussions bringing practical ideas for future activities around the areas of policy and youth. 

During the research session, members heard about progress on EFI’s research agenda, which will set out priority topics and research questions for the period 2026-2030. In addition, Laura Liepina from DG AGRI gave an update on EU opportunities for forest-related research and innovation, including progress of the proposed European Partnership for Forests, forestry, and the forest-based sector. This was complemented by Alex Giurca, who presented highlights from the strategic R&I agenda for forestry and the forest-based sector (SRIA) compiled by the EUFORE project in support of the Partnership. 

Our members also had the chance to pitch their organisation and its activities to the audience, in two short pitch talk sessions. 

Decision making session in brief

Dr Sanja Perić was re-elected as a member of the EFI Board for the term 2025-2028.

The Annual Conference agreed to waive the 2025 membership fees for EFI’s Ukrainian member organisations. It also extended a warm welcome to the eight new Associate Members and one Affiliate Member who have joined the EFI network since the 2024 Annual Conference. This means that EFI currently has a network of c. 125 member organisations from 39 countries!

Dr Leire Barañano became the newest EFI Fellow. She was a Board member (2018-2024), vice-chair of the Board (2021-2023) and Chair of the Board (2023-2024). In her acceptance speech, Leire highlighted the evolution and transformation of the institution during her time with the EFI Board, and said it had been an honour to be involved in this process.

The EFI Annual Conference and Scientific Seminar will be held in 2026 in Växjö, Sweden, hosted by Linnaeus University. The theme of the scientific seminar will be Forest diplomacy.

Catch up with photos from the day on our LinkedIn channel.