"As usual, ESOF 2018 contained programmes on Science, science to business and careers, along with an exhibition, satellite events, Science in the City festival and social events. It was a true European and international success thanks to the enthusiastic local team, the competence of the international and local committee members and the many local, national, European and international partners. The main indicators show 4036 participants from 101 countries, all 28 EU countries were represented, 34% of the participants were less than 35 years old. There were 449 journalists, 228 sessions, a quasi-gender parity both among speakers and among participants, a high-level presence with the contribution of 4 Nobel laureates and a Fields medallist and many renowned scientists among the > 1000 speakers; 94% of the participants answering the surveys were satisfied or very satisfied. More than 40 senior politicians were present, including European Commissioner Carlos Moedas for Science, Research and Innovation and the French Minister of Higher Education, research and innovation, Frédérique Vidal. The participation of European Commission officers was remarkable; the Director General of Research and innovation Jean-Eric Paquet, the Director of the European Research Council Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, various personalities from the Marie Curie actions and the Joint Research Centre as well as numerous members of European expert groups, e.g. the group of chief scientific advisers or the European group on ethics of science and new technologies were active in sessions, but also in the exhibition, satellite events, Agoras and the Science in the City Festival.
The programme, with up to 12 parallel sessions addressed 10 main themes and 4 cross-cutting axes (ethics/RRI, inequalities, gender issues, risk/safety), with scientific and science policy aspects (133 sessions); 27 ""Science to business"" sessions involved large companies and SMEs and 28 career sessions were very lively. Besides, the programme offered 5 Plenary Keynotes and 9 Plenary panel discussions, 8 Poster sessions, 5 EuroScience events and 3 Ceremonies (opening, awards and closing). Highlights were about Science in Europe with plenary panels about Horizon Europe, Open Science and Open access, with a preview on the future Plan S, reflections about inequalities in European science and innovation, analyses of the challenges of climate change, the future of space research, science diplomacy, social innovation, but also the measure of time in the 21st century, our cosmic origins, reproducibility in research, and the challenges for young scientists."
