Biodiversity Informatics Horizons 2013 (BIH2013) is part of a continuing process to structure and organise the biodiversity informatics community at the European level and beyond.

BIH2013, organised by several EU projects[1], will take place over 3 full days, from lunchtime on Tuesday 3rd September to lunchtime Friday 6th, with workshops and training events on Tuesday Morning and Friday morning. The venue will be in Sapienza University, Rome.

The intention behind the meeting is to bring together those likely to form consortia for H2020 funding in this domain. With some luck we should have access to the H2020 workplans by September so that the consortia will not be forming entirely in the dark. We understand from the European Commission that they would like to see a greater level of cooperation, so less direct competition, in the responses to H2020 calls.

Invited speakers will review challenging areas and promising technologies in biodiversity informatics, pathways to sustainable implementation and changing the community culture in the context of the LifeWatch vision, decadal priorities for biodiversity informatics, and the EC roadmap workshop on biodiversity infrastructures.

Demonstration and training activities will demonstrate some of the new and exciting infrastructure building blocks that will come together to deliver the LifeWatch vision. A panel discussion with experts from regions of the world beyond Europe will explore opportunities for international cooperation that lead towards a sustainable global infrastructure. There will also be a plenary discussion on working together towards building a more sustainable future, informed by networking opportunities throughout the conference.

The conference web site is

http://conference.lifewatch.unisalento.it/index.php/EBIC/BIH2013

Register before 31 July for early registration conference fee.

A demonstration session is available for persons wanting to show a software product or poster and we invite anyone to contact Dr Aaike De Wever <aaike.dewever_at_naturalsciences.be> to book a space before 12th August.

Alex Hardisty, Dave Roberts and Alberto Basset (on behalf of the organising committee)

[1] BIH2013 is sponsored by BioVel, ViBRANT, LifeWatch, EUBrazilOpenBio and pro-iBiosphere. It has been organised with help from agINFRA, BioFresh, BIO_SOS, CReATIVE-B, e-Monocot, ENVRI, EU-BON, iMarine, Lifewatch, Natural Europe, OpenUp! and PESI.