GLACIER at the DAAD Global Centres Conference

From 10 to 12 September 2024 the DAAD hosted their biennial Global Centres Conference, where the eight DAAD-funded global centres of which GLACIER is part reunited and shared their progress in Berlin, Germany.

GLACIER participated with several talks, scientific posters, a round table, and also taking part in the workshops and in the exchange of the centre’s students experiences at a focused PhD student round table.

Overall, the conference was a big success. There was intense discussion on the importance of the GLACIER impact regions and how the centre’s goals related to the needs of other countries in the global south.

There was an exchange of information through talks, round tables and participative workshops of projects and activities currently carried out by all the centres, where common problems, reseach lines, obstacles, experiences and goals could converge and alignments were outlined.

Some of the key points addressed were:

- - - The need for alignment between the centres’ efforts and funding opportunities provided by international, non-profit and governmental institutions, among others
    - The need for more interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and collaboration
    - Possibilities for more intense collaboration between countries in the global south
    - The importance of the sustainability of the centres’ impacts

There was a noticeable number of parlamentarian and governmental representatives taking part in the event and sharing their opinions and points of view on the importance and future of the centres.

The spirit of collaboration and sharing with other centres was present throughout, and connections were strengthened. There was also a chance for the environmental and health centres to interact beyond their area of research and discover different, enriching perspectives and contributions from other scientific areas.