One of 992
As the Nordic Society Oikos joined forces with the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (GfÖ), 992 attendees gathered in Odense for four days of interesting science, discussion and networking. Especially on the first day, being just one of 992 people could feel a bit overwhelming. But as soon as you started talking, it turned out that the person next to you worked on similar problems, used similar methods, or knew the same colleagues. Within a day or two, the huge crowd turned into a network of familiar faces, and it felt much more like home than the attendance numbers suggested.
Awards
Overall, 80 parallel sessions with 582 talks were spread over a maze of different rooms, and together with 281 posters and 25 workshops, there was plenty of inspiring science to see. The juries certainly didn't have an easy task. Congratulations to this year's award winners, who impressed with their science and presentation skills:
Best Young Researcher Talk: Kaisa Säkkinen
Best PhD Student Talk: Luzie Glock
Best Postdoc Talk: Ameli Kirse
Best Poster: Tobias Trauden
A view from the volunteer desk
As one of the many volunteers, I saw the conference from a slightly different angle. We were supposed to help with registration, show people around and support the sessions. In reality, it turned out to be a lot more varied. Over the four days, we also helped track down an optician to repair a set of broken glasses, looked up the nearest computer store for a laptop emergency, searched for lost sweaters, and tried to find some food for hungry participants. It was a lot of fun to experience this side of a conference!
Next meeting and society news
We do not have to wait long for the next opportunity to meet. The GfÖ will hold its 2027 annual meeting in Cottbus, Germany, and the next Nordic Oikos conference will take place in Helsinki, Finland, in 2028. I hope to see many familiar faces there and continue our discussions.
For the period until the next ordinary General Assembly, the NSO board welcomes Dagmar Egelkraut as the new Norwegian representative and Haseeb Randhawa as the new Icelandic representative. The board and the NSO community expresses their appreciation for Anders Nielsen and Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir, who are leaving their positions after many years!
The NSO is constantly working on improving its support for its members and has decided on some new initiatives for networking and mobility! Keep your eyes peeled on our news page and and social media!
What I take home with me
The theme of this year's conference was "Integrating the Diversity of Ecology", and looking back, I think it fit very well. Ecology covers everything from microbes to landscapes and from field work to modelling, and the people working in it represent many different
countries, backgrounds and interests. In Odense, all of that came together in one place. As ecosystems and biodiversity are under increased pressure, and science itself faces challenges like funding cuts or growing public skepticism, I don't believe we can tackle any of these problems on our own. The conference reminded me how much we gain from sharing knowledge and ideas, and how much stronger we are when we work together across borders and disciplines. After all, each of us has at least 991 people to help.
A huge thank you to everyone who made NSO/GfÖ 2026 possible: the organizing committee, the boards of NSO and GfÖ, all the volunteers, and of course every participant who came along and shared their science!
See you next time!
Lukas Seifert, conference volunteer