Best wishes from the Director General

Dear Colleagues,

I wish you a happy New Year, full of private and professional achievements and successes.

This year will be an important one for AnaEE, with the ERIC foundation, the ESFRI Landmark evaluation, and, moreover, the start of the effective scientific operations of AnaEE as a joint tool for the community.

The previous year has not been an easy one. However, it has been a productive year for AnaEE with the finalization of the applications both to get the Landmark approval and the ERIC status. It has been an opportunity to collectively think in our strategic guidelines, as well as in the procedures and organization of our Research Infrastructure. We have also consolidated our network with a new member, and deep discussions with two other prospective new members.

This year, 2021, will see the realisation of a more than 10-year-old dream (just taking into account the first mention of AnaEE on the European RI Roadmap). To achieve this goal, we have to pass through several milestones, such as the ESFRI hearings, and the evaluation of the ERIC application. Moreover, AnaEE should become operational this year, i.e., be in position to release its first call for proposal, make data available, and be a focal point for the community. With the launch of the Horizon Europe program, AnaEE will have several opportunities to strengthen, but also to support the building of scientific programs. We will have also to continue our efforts to extend our member basis, in view to become the reference infrastructure in experimental ecology, at the interface of life and environmental sciences.

Among the conditions for the dream of our founders to become a reality, is the active participation of all of you: AnaEE is made by the people who are behind every platform that are part of its network. Our diversity should be a strength, and an opportunity for the scientific community to propose programs, and get new results that can’t be achieved through the simple addition of individual facilities.

The events experienced last year have shown to everyone on the planet the urgency to deal with the environmental issues, including biodiversity and climate change. AnaEE can be a major contributor to the understanding of the evolution of ecosystems, and how to tackle with these issues, to achieve a respectful development of our society. AnaEE will contribute to the European Green Deal, and to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

This year will be crucial for the ramping up of AnaEE, and we should all contribute to the construction of a major research tool for both the scientific community and the society at large.

Michel Boër