About the meeting

About the meeting

The European Diatom Meeting originally started in 1987 as the Treffen Deutschsprachiger Diatomologen (DDT) and was transformed in 2007 into Central European Diatom Meeting with a first symposium organized in the Botanic Garden of Berlin. The event developed into an annual gathering, welcoming each time around 75 participants from all European countries. Since 2021, the meeting continues as European Diatom Meeting (EDM).

It brings together scientists from all over Europe and further afield to discuss a broad range of topics in diatom research: morphology, taxonomy, biogeography, physiology, (paleo)ecology of terrestrial, freshwater and marine diatoms.

The 14th meeting will be held from 9–11 May 2023 in Meise Botanic Garden (Belgium).

The first two days (9 & 10 May 2023) will be filled with 3 keynote lectures, oral and poster presentations. On the last day, 11 May 2023, a one-day taxonomic workshop on the revised European Brachysira flora will be organized, that will discuss and elucidate the latest revisions in this iconic genus.

Social events will include a Belgian beer reception in the greenhouses on Tuesday evening and a barbecue in our Medieval castle on Wednesday evening.

The meeting will be organized in collaboration with the University of Antwerp (Belgium), the Dutch-speaking diatom association NVKD and the French-speaking diatom association ADLaF.

About the symposium venue

The opening ceremony, oral presentations and poster sessions as well as all related social activities will take place at the Meise Botanic Garden.

The Botanic Garden is housed at Meise, in the northern outskirts of Brussels. In 1938 the Belgian state bought the Bouchout estate in Meise, a domain of 92 ha, from the Royal Family to build a new botanic garden. Formerly the Botanic Garden was situated in the centre of Brussels, but this old location in town was closed down at the beginning of the seventies of last century.

The 14th European Diatom Meeting will be held in the 12th century Bouchout Castle in the heart of Meise Botanic Garden. The last inhabitant of this Castle was empress Charlotte of Mexico, sister of King Leopold II.

This meeting will also be held in memory of our dear friend and colleague Luc Ector who organized the (C)EDM meeting in 2019 in Luxemburg, and who suddenly and much too early passed away in April 2022.