Project main objective was to provide the organisation of the Launch of the ESFRI Roadmap 2021 and of the ESFRI Stakeholder forum, including their preparation, broad communication about the events and their outputs and related logistical activities such as venue and technical support, refreshments and social programme as well as press coverage. This conference was planned as part of a series of events marking the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It was organised fully by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, in close cooperation with ESFRI and the European Commission.
Taking into consideration the Covid-19 situation in Slovenia at the beginning of the November 2021 and consequent recommendations of the Slovenian national authority responsible for public health that all events by the end of 2021 could be organised only in virtual format, it was at the end decided (the dedicated Program Committee in close consultation with ESFRI) that only ESFRI plenary meeting and ESFRI Roadmap 2021 Launch Event could be organised as online events. For ESFRI Stakeholders Forum, it was however decided to be postponed to the date, when it could be organised physically. More details you can find in the following chapter on implementation.
This conference was part of a series of events marking the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It was organised by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport and the preparation done in close cooperation with ESFRI, European Commission and StR-ESFRI. The Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union originally planned a set of three-days events dedicated to the work of ESFRI in Ljubljana called “ESFRI Days” from the 6. – 8. December 2021:
• the ordinary 78th meeting of the European Strategic Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) on the 6. and 7. December 2021,
• the launch event for the ESFRI Roadmap 2021 on large scale research infrastructures on the 7. December 2021 afternoon and
• whole day 1st ESFRI Stakeholder Forum on the 8. December.
The main objectives of the ESFRI Roadmap 2021 launch event were:
• To make a formal, public presentation of the ESFRI Roadmap 2021,
• To discuss with major stakeholders the outcomes and conclusions of the ESFRI 2021 road-mapping exercise,
• To reflect on the main challenges for implementation of research infrastructures,
• To facilitate a quick start towards implementation for new research infrastructures included in the Roadmap,
• To reflect on possible actions aiming at long-term sustainability of research infrastructures,
• To prepare ground for the planning of the next ESFRI Roadmap update.
