The EPS Council in front of the Fundação Dr. António Cupertino de Miranda, Porto

The Council of the European Physical Society (EPS) took place in Porto this year. In the beautiful premises of the Fundação Dr. António Cupertino de Miranda, representatives of EPS Member Societies, Individual Members, Associate Members, chairs of Divisions, Groups and Committees gathered to exchange ideas on the Society's activities.

The first day was dedicated to reports from the EPS president, the treasurer and various work groups. Discussions were launched around changes in the EPS constitution and participants had the opportunity to discover the candidates for several elections.  The day concluded with a dinner in the impressive contemporary building of Casa da Musica in the centre of Porto. A tribute to David Lee, former EPS Secretary General, was presented by the current EPS President Luc Bergé and several of his predecessors: Luisa Cifarelli, Maciej Kolwas, Ove Poulsen, Christophe Rossel, Petra Rudolf and Rüdiger Voss.

The second day revealed the results of elections for a renewed EPS Executive Committee. Mairi Sakellariaou, is the EPS President-Elect. A professor of Theoretical Physics at King’s College London, former co-editor at the EPL journal and current chair of the EPS Gravitational Physics Division, Mairi will succeed Luc Bergé as EPS President in 2024. Presentations of the activities of ISBSSD (International Year of Basic Science for Sustainable Development) and the congress of the French Physical Society, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year were also on the agenda. The Society's Awards were attributed as follows:

• EPS Gero Thomas Medal to Christophe Rossel
• EPS Fellows to José Maria De Teresa and Nicola Bianchi
• EPS Honorary Member to Karl Heinz Langanke
• EPS Early Career Awards to Adolfo Grushin and Jose Lado
• EPS Edison Volta Prize 2020 awarded to Klaus Ensslin, Jurgen Smet and Dieter Weiss. Profs Ensslin and Weiss each presented their work prior to the award of the prize. 

Details of all 2023 EPS Awards can be found here: https://www.eps.org/?page=distinctions

The Council ended with an online meeting with our colleagues from the Ukraine Physical Society (UPS):  Prof. Maksym Strikha Taras Shevchenko, Kyiv National University Ukraine, UPS Board Member, UPS President (2013-2016) and Prof. Mikhail Belogolovskii Comenius University, Bratislava, UPS Vice President. Both described the harsh living conditions and the losses among the scientific community who stayed in the country and carried on their work despite the war. They thanked the EPS for its support and encouraged the assembly to work on further common actions.

The European and international scientific community is working together to take appropriate actions to support the Ukrainian scientific community that are facing exceptional challenges due to the current war situation in the country.

Several measures to support the Ukrainian scientists are being taken to try to mitigate the damage caused by the conflict in their professional activities. Below, the EPS Brussels office presents the list of initiatives that, to the best of our knowledge, are currently supporting the Ukrainian scientific community:

1. #ScienceForUkraine collects and disseminates information for students and researchers directly affected by the Russian invasion in Ukraine. You can find them using the hashtag #ScienceForUkraine in Twitter or in the website: https://scienceforukraine.eu/
   
2. ERC for Ukraine: the European Research Council (ERC) has appealed to its grantees to provide temporary employment to refugee researchers and support staff, such as technician and lab managers fleeing the war, from Ukraine. See the current open opportunities here: https://erc.europa.eu/funding/additional-opportunities/ERC-for-Ukraine-research-jobs
   
3. European Innovation Council (EIC) initiative. The European Commission has launched an ambitious €20 million action to support the Ukrainian innovation community. The new initiative will support at least 200 Ukrainian deep tech start-ups with up to €60,000 each. In addition, the EIC will offer non-financial support, such as business advisory services and matchmaking.
4. European Research Area for Ukraine (ERA4Ukraine) portal. One-stop-shop for information and support services to Ukraine-based researchers and researchers fleeing Ukraine. The portal brings together initiatives at the EU level, per country and from non-governmental groups. It aims to help affected researchers find housing and job opportunities, facilitate the recognition of their diplomas, and offer other services.
5. The European Commission (DG RTD), Eklipse, Science for Ukraine and Chance for Science are collaborating to explore ways to reconnect and network the scientists and researchers of Ukraine who are either dispersed all over Europe/world or struggling to keep doing their research and teaching in Ukraine. The main idea behind this common initiative is to support the Ukrainian Scientific community to keep Ukrainian science strong, connected and well networked with the rest of the European Scientific community.
6. The European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO) offers direct help and provides a link to an xls file where people can add their lab taking up UKR scientists/students
   
7. The European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) has re-activated their scientist-at-risk program to support individuals: https://www.easp.eu/news/itm/easp_statement_of_support__ukrai-1424.html.
8. The European Chemical Society (EuChemS) has launched a group to share opportunities for Ukrainian colleagues https://www.euchems.eu/chemists-for-ukraine/.
9. The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) has set up labs, office work places and also accommodation for Ukrainian colleagues: https://www.embo.org/solidarity-with-ukraine/.
10. The Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) provides a platform for peer-to-peer support
    https://www.mariecuriealumni.eu/groups/ukrainian-members-support-group,
    and a list of labs supporting Ukrainian scientists as well as a fundraising campaign:
    
    • https://bit.ly/3jgLMtx
    • https://mailchi.mp/a3c3f9577f6a/mcaa-x-ukraine.
11. European Fund for Displaced Scientists (EFDS). An ALLEA-Breakthrough Prize Foundation Partnership to Support Scholars Impacted by the War in Ukraine. The EFDS programme has two separate funding lines:
    
    • Funding Line 1 provides funds to academic institutions in Europe that are willing and able to host scholars who have been displaced by the war in Ukraine.
    • Funding Line 2 provides funds to affected Ukrainian universities, academies, and research institutes to help them maintain their operations and rebuild their scientific facilities and research collaborations. Its aim is also to support the reintegration process of researchers after their return to a post-war Ukraine.
12. daad-ukraine.org: the German National Academic Contact Point Ukraine implements this initiative which offers a first orientation in Germany and especially in the German higher education and research system. They also provide an overview of different help offers in academia.
13. German Research Foundation (DFG) offers support via special funding programs - offers assistance by providing accommodation. The Helmholtz Research Association promotes an initiative enabling refugees to enter scientific or science-related employment and National Research Data Infrastructure – NFDI collects links, contact addresses and services that can help affected scientists from Ukraine.
14. science4people – S4P is an international initiative of scientists and those aware of the role of science and innovation for the future of our civilization. From which this future will grow is education, which is severely impaired in conflict-torn countries. S4P supports these communities to care for the vulnerable and foster education, to open prospects for the future.