Biodiversity Genomics Europe is back... with a plus!
The Naturalis Biodiversity Center, coordinator of BGE+, hosted the project’s inaugural meeting between June 3rd – 5th, 2026 in Leiden, The Netherlands. The meeting included plenary sessions, parallel break-out sessions, and meetings of the project’s governance bodies – General Assembly, Executive Board, and External Expert Advisory Board.
Keynote talk: Do not grow in isolation. Complementarity is crucial
Christos Arvanitidis, CEO of LifeWatch ERIC, gave the keynote speech, titled ‘Building Biodiversity Genomics as a European community-driven Research Infrastructure: Lessons learned from LifeWatch ERIC’. The presentation built on the experience of LifeWatch to provide practical guidance on the next steps for BGE+ towards establishing a research infrastructure (RI). Mr. Arvanitidis emphasised the need to invest in complementarity with existing RIs and related initiatives to ensure feasibility and long-term sustainability. Inclusivity, ethical soundness, scientific excellence and societal impact were also deemed crucial by the presenter.
Christos Arvanitidis, CEO of LifeWatch ERIC, during his keynote speech.
Travel partners: TETTRIx, NextBON and BEAGLE
BGE+ is funded under the Horizon Europe call HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-03: Strengthening taxonomic approaches for biodiversity (Area B). Within the call, it was envisioned that the project would collaborate with other projects selected under related topics, especially TETTRIx, also funded under area A of the same topic, and projects selected under topic HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-04: NextBON (Next Generation Biodiversity Observation Network) and BEAGLE (Biodiversity methods for advanced monitoring at large scales). To initiate an effective collaboration with these projects, the respective coordinators were invited to introduce these projects during the event.
Cascade funding, training, policy engagement, innovation, services... And more!
Much of the event was devoted to presentations and interaction at the work package (WP) level. Each WP leader presented their overall objectives, tasks structure, timelines, expected outcomes, and connections with the activities in other WPs. After that, several specific meetings for each WP were held, spread across two parallel sessions. In these meetings, the WP members had an opportunity to discuss specific topics, including planning, potential risks, and responsibilities of all the partners involved.
The kick-off event also provided an effective platform for discussions on topics related to multiple tasks, enabling cross-workpackage coordination.
Partners of BGE+ during the break-out session on Training (WP3)
BGE+ Governance bodies
The last day of the event allowed for the governance bodies, namely the General Assembly, Executive Board (EB), and External Expert Advisory Board (EEAB), to meet to discuss their responsibilities and plan for their project activities. Below is a very brief description of each of these bodies and their role:
The General Assembly is the ultimate decision-making body of the consortium and comprises one representative from each project partner.
The Executive Board is the supervisory body for the execution of the project. It reports to and is accountable to the General Assembly. The EB consists of the Project Director, Project Manager, WP leaders and members of the Scientific Steering Board.
The External Expert Advisory Board provides expert advice on matters raised by the Executive Board and the Scientific Steering Board.