Over 25 members of the ELEEP Network met in Brussels and The Netherlands from 14 until 18 May 2014. The Members engaged in a variety of activities, with a specific focus on discussing the organizational and substantive evolution of the ELEEP Network. This face-to-face consideration of how to implement an action-oriented, policy-relevant network – that remains both professionally and personally rewarding – will inform an ongoing discussion of ELEEP’s next steps with the two coordinating organizations (Ecologic Institute and Atlantic Council), as well as the rest of the members in the ELEEP network, over the coming months.

The LEDDRA Policy Conference aimed to present selected and policy-related project findings and to discuss associated policy recommendations, as well as to develop new critical thinking to support future initiatives addressing Land and Ecosystem Degradation and Desertification (LEDD). The conference brought together LEDDRA researchers, policy makers from international, EU organizations, and Member States, as well as stakeholder groups and NGOs. The discussion and questions raised by the presentations and dialogue at the conference will contribute to ongoing efforts to combat land degradation and desertification at the international, European, and national levels.

Insights from the CECILIA2050 research project were discussed at a high-level expert conference in Brussels on 6 March 2014, convening around 80 participants from industry, NGOs, academia and governments engaged in the discussions on the present and future climate policy mix. The conference featured the main results of the first part of the CECILIA2050 project, which provided a stock-taking and ex-post evaluation of climate policies in Europe.

Climate change policy, shale gas and oil, trade, and the advancement of renewables are highly current topics for the transatlantic exchange of best practices and ideas. The mission of the ELEEP Network is to foster transatlantic exchange and discourse. With this conference, the ELEEP Network convened a vital contribution to transatlantic exchange on these energy and climate topics.

On 6–7 June 2013, the final conference of InContext, together with the Informed Cities Forum 2013, took place in Berlin. It provided a creative platform for local initiatives, policymakers, and researchers to exchange insights, ideas, and experiences on transition processes. At the core of the conference was the question of how to create space for change and move towards better places, stronger communities, and resilient societies.

<p>On 6 March 2013, the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), the Embassy of Canada, Ecologic Institute and the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research hosted a lecture by David Hik, University of Alberta, Canada and IASC President. The session focused on possible future trajectories of national and international research in the Arctic region, drawing on Prof. Hik’s observations of the recent past and International Polar Year initiatives. Following the lecture, Prof. Hik fielded questions from the 35 participants, who represented German research institutes and ministries, foreign embassies and foundations and think tanks.</p>&#13;