Created by EuroScience in 2004, the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) is the largest biennial scientific meeting in Europe, and it will be opening its doors for the 10th time to the delegates in pursuit of interdisciplinary and intersectional debate on scientific culture, research collaboration, and innovation policy.  

ESOF routinely brings together over 4,500 leading thinkers, innovators, policy makers, journalists, educators from more than 90 countries to discuss current and future breakthroughs in science and developments in research policy. Each conference aims to deliver stimulating content using a wide range of creative and interactive session formats meant to foster a lively exchange of ideas through debate and other interactions (check out the full programme). 

Photo credit: Kees Hummel 

In addition to the main conference programme, every ESOF is usually accompanied by a public outreach programme in the form of the Science in the City Festival. The festival is an instrumental part of the conference and boasts science exhibitions, public hands-on workshops, and other forms of citizens involvement that help bring science closer to the general public.  

In 2022, the honor of the European City of Science was awarded to the Dutch city of Leiden. Many cities claim to be cities of science, but Leiden truly is one. The city and the University of Leiden has always been a place where talent, expertise, and freethinkers have gathered to bring about the latest innovations and cutting-edge technologies century after century. The values of freedom and open debate are reflected in the motto of the city - “Haec Liberatis Ergo” (For the Sake of Liberty).  

It is the spirit of freedom and openness that make Leiden the logical choice to showcase science on an international scale during #ESOF2022, and it is only befitting that Frontiers, as open access publisher, will be taking an active part at the conference as a partner as well as a Delegates’ Party host at the oldest botanical garden of the Netherlands. 

Frontiers Policy Labs initiative will be organizing a panel discussion titled ‘Does good science lead to good advice and policy making? Rethinking the science advice-policy link in the aftermath of COVID-19’. The panel will present and discuss the results of a series of interviews with seven top-level science advisors, experts, and policy makers from Australia, Canada, Japan, Europe, and the United States conducted within Frontiers Policy Labs framework during 2020 - 2021. It promises to be an insightful pursuit of answers to the questions of how to have more effective policy making with science and how to change science to better serve society.  

Photo credit: Frontiers

Commenting on Frontiers’ participation at #ESOF2022, chief executive editor Dr Frederick Fenter says, ‘Our mission at Frontiers is to make science open for healthy lives on a healthy planet, which is why we always feel at home at EuroScience Open Fora. ESOF is a wonderful platform to connect with like-minded partners from science and policy-making space to discuss and develop game-changing advances, technologies, and initiatives to facilitate faster and more actionable solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges. As an open access scholarly publisher, we appreciate the constructive dialogue and open exchange of knowledge which ESOF has never failed to deliver. ESOF2022 is promising to be as stimulating as ever, and Frontiers looks forward to welcoming everyone to the Delegates' Party in Leiden!’ 

To attend the #ESOF2022 and join Frontiers, go to the registration page and discover all the available conference experiences. 

About Frontiers   

Frontiers is the 3rd most-cited and 9th largest research publisher. We publish groundbreaking discoveries by the world's top experts. Scientists empower society and our mission is to accelerate scientific discovery by making science open. We place the researcher at the center of everything we do and enable the research community to develop the solutions we need to live healthy lives on a healthy planet. Featuring custom-built technology, artificial intelligence, and rigorous quality standards, our research articles have been viewed more than 1.4 billion times, reflecting the power of research that is open for all.