The LifeWatch ERIC Thematic Services workshops have started with a kick-off on Taxonomy

On January 30, at the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts in Brussels, the first LifeWatch ERIC Thematic Services Workshops kicked off, focused on Taxonomy Services. Alberto Basset, LifeWatch ERIC Service Centre Director, opened the meeting by presenting the LifeWatch Thematic Core Services (TCS). These services consist of tools, virtual labs, and other research products designed to facilitate the work of various stakeholders. They aim to support specialised scientific communities, experts involved in environmental policies (such as the UN Decade of Oceans and the European Green Deal), and practitioners dealing with biodiversity observatories.

Alberto Basset underlined that the scientific community is critical for a Research Infrastructure. To best serve this community he introduced the LifeWatch ERIC Thematic Core Services Working Groups. The goal is to transition from a community-tailored structure to a community-guided one.

Leen Vandepitte of LifeWatch Belgium welcomed the participants with a session to define the scope of the Taxonomy Services. Around 20 LifeWatch Distributed Centres participants and externals were at the workshop. The workshop occurredd concurrently with the LifeWatch Belgium Biodiversity Day, titled this year “Taxonomy: The science behind species discovery.”

During the workshop, Stefanie Dekeyzer from LifeWatch Belgium presented the existing taxonomic services available within and outside of LifeWatch. Participants had the opportunity to discuss the current state of the Taxonomy Services and how well they align with the needs and requirements of the scientific community. The workshop concluded with a discussion on organising future interactions within the TCS community.

This workshop was proposed and organised by LifeWatch Belgium in collaboration with all LifeWatch Common Facilities and National Distributed Centers.