Conferences

23.-25.10.2023

The First Mountain Innovation Fair has been planned to offer a buzzing, interactive and collaborative workspace to exchange on challenges and successes of innovative approaches, with lively discussions and practical demonstrations. Out-of-the box thinking, novel approaches and facilitating wider access to innovations have been the core of the Fair. Meet your peers, learn about and co-create mountain innovations with a potential for replication in various regions and contexts.

More information, can be found here

3-4 October 2022, online

The second edition of the Global Mountain Sustainability Forum (GMS Forum) aims at exploring sustainable and resilient human-mountain relations in light of current societal and environmental challenges humanity is faced with. In doing so, the conference strives to provide a platform for multi- and interdisciplinary discussion while shedding light on the lessons to be learned from mountains and mountain communities in relation to the sustainable reorganisation of modern societies. A special focus will be placed on the dynamics between highlands and lowlands.

More information, can be found in the official website here

Organised by the African Mountain Research Foundation (AMRF), in association with the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU – University of the Free State) and Global Mountain Safeguard Research (GLOMOS – United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security and Eurac Research), SAMC2022 will be held at the Champagne Sports Resort in the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains, from 14 to 17 March 2022.

Focusing on mountains in the southern African region – i.e. Angola, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo [southern mountains], Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, La Réunion, South Africa, southern Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe – this will be the first regional conference of its kind.

SAMC2022 is intentionally multi-disciplinary, and seeks to bring together key stakeholders in the scientific, policy, practitioner, and livelihoods sectors, leading to stronger cooperation for mountains, providing a strong science-policy-industry interface.

We are carefully monitoring the COVID-19 situation and will adapt SAMC2022 as needed; however, we are optimistic of an in-person event (with necessary protocols), or, if deemed necessary, a hybrid event. The selected venue has an excellent reputation in hosting safe events.

More information, can be found in the official website here

5-6 October 2020 Sesto, Italy (and online)

Organised in collaboration with the Eurac Research Center for Advanced Studies, the newly established Global Mountain Sustainability Forum (GMS Forum) conference series represents a platform to discuss the particular challenges concerning sustainability in mountain regions. The GMS Forum 2020 tackled sustainability governance issues at the crossroads between international frameworks and local contributions, focusing on the topics of tourism and natural resource management (see full conference programme and the forum report here).

17-19 October 2018 Bolzano, Italy

The kick-off event for the GLOMOS programme. From 17 to 19 October 2018, UNU‐EHS and Eurac Research brought together experts from a variety of sectors including members from key United Nations agencies, international academic experts, government representatives, NGO leaders, and private sector partners to discuss the state-of-the-art in relation to “Emerging Risks and Future Challenges for Mountain regions worldwide”. The conference was held at the premises of Eurac Research as well as at NOI - the Nature of Innovation Techpark in Bolzano/Bozen (Italy) and was supported by the Government of South Tyrol.

The main goal of this conference was to act as a platform for communication and exchange in relation to present and future challenges in mountain areas worldwide. In addition, it was envisioned to facilitate a global community of practice dealing with contemporary mountain-specific subjects together with entities already connecting the international research community on mountains. In more detail, the main objectives of the conference included:

• The identification of adequate approaches for the conversion of scientific knowledge into action, specifically to support the implementation of the most recent global conventions and frameworks;

• The promotion of scientifically sound guidelines and recommendations for decision-makers and planners to foster evidence-based advocacy for mountain-specific topics and strengthen the research and educational capacities of international partner institutions, scientists, and practitioners at a global scale.