Living Data 2025: FORSAID’s contributions to open science and technological innovations in the spotlight

Last week, FORSAID was represented by project partners at the Living Data 2025 conference in Bogotá, Colombia. Between 21 and 24 October, this event brought some of the world’s most prominent networks in the domain of biodiversity data, TDWG, GBIF, OBIS and GEO BON, all together for the first time. They were joined by hundreds of experts and stakeholders from around the globe for a comprehensive four-day agenda on how far biosphere research has progressed and how its outputs are to be utilised, stored and shared.

Our collaborators from Pensoft Publishers were at the event with their own stand on the exhibition floor, showcasing FORSAID materials and informing attendees about our vision for forest health across Europe. Moreover, a showcase of the project was included in the symposium they hosted together with LifeWatch ERIC and the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre on 23 October. As suggested by its title, "Long Live Biodiversity Data: Knowledge Transfer and Continuity across Research Projects (Part 2)", this joint endeavour focused on the legacy and impact of scientific results as they transcend the initiatives that gave rise to them to begin with.

For its part, FORSAID was introduced therein in the context of its relation to the predecessor project HOMED, with an emphasis on how the insights and results of the former feed into the latter. Our consortium member Peter Bozakov delivered the presentation, describing how HOMED’s progress in modelling outputs, trap designs and species identification is already shaping and underpinning its successor’s efforts. You can watch the full symposium recording here. 

Last but not least, FORSAID’s team leader from Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Prof. Dr. Rudolf Meier, delivered a keynote talk titled "Accelerating Biodiversity Discovery Through Innovative Technologies" to the plenary assembly of the conference. His showcase is available on this page.