The new Chairperson of the eLTER Interim Council meets the eLTER team

On 23rd November 2021 Kevin Bishop (Sweden), the new Chairperson of the eLTER Interim Council (Ministerial delegations) met several members of the eLTER team (Jaana Bäck, Terhi Rasilo, Marjut Kaukolehto & Michael Mirtl) in Helsinki, Finland.

A full day was dedicated to clarifying several strategic eLTER matters, discussing the status of eLTER across 26 countries and working on the agenda of the third eLTER Interim Council (IC), to be held on 28 and 29 January 2022.

A deeper understanding of the different scientific foci, and organizational, governance and operational structures of the national LTER networks will be crucial for leading the Interim Council. The IC is challenged with finding the common ground needed for the establishment of a strong eLTER RI with feasible site designs and services of highest relevance across our existing and future user groups.

eLTER is grateful for the time that Kevin has dedicated to the preparation of this challenging task. Specifically, after the long pandemic time, the group enjoyed the "informal" parts of the day, which ended in a Georgian restaurant. This made the team even more aware that it has to find ways of exiting lock-down times and establishing new working realities that better balance virtual and physical interactions.