More than 100 participants gathered at the Royal Veterinary College’s Camden Campus in June 2026, in London, UK, for the final workshop of the COST Action LIFT, “Lifting Animal Lives – How Best to Move Forward?”. The event marked the culmination of the Action, providing an opportunity to present its key deliverables and achievements while exploring future research directions and the long-term impact of PAW.
Registration before the start of the event. Photo: Irene Camerlink.
The workshop featured three plenary presentations delivered by the WG Leaders, Jean-Loup Rault, Linda Keeling, and Pol Llonch. Each presentation was followed by a panel discussion with representatives from the respective subWGs, encouraging reflection and dialogue across the network. The plenary sessions addressed the conceptual challenges of PAW, recent advances in its assessment, and the practical challenges of assessing PAW in farm settings.
Panel discussion during the event at the Royal Veterinary College in London. Photo: Irene Camerlink.
During two poster sessions, participants presented and discussed the outputs of 28 subWGs, showcasing the breadth of research and collaboration achieved throughout the Action. The workshop also celebrated the launch of a beautifully illustrated children’s book on PAW, presented by WG Leader Irene Camerlink and distributed to attendees.
One of the two rooms with poster sessions during the coffee break. Photo: Laura Webb.
In the afternoon, LIFT Vice Chair Laura Webb introduced the “Life after LIFT” breakout sessions, which focused on shaping the future of PAW research and collaboration. Two sessions explored research gaps and approaches to ensuring high-quality research, while the remaining sessions addressed stakeholder engagement, dissemination, and impact. The lively discussions were facilitated by Liesbeth Bolhuis, Charlotte Goursot, Frank Tuyttens, Angelique Favreau, Silvana Matiello, Boris Antunovic, Christian Nawroth, and Madalina Mincu-Iorga. Key conclusions from each group were shared with all participants during the closing plenary.
Presentation from the break-out sessions. Photo: Heng-Lun Ko.
The success of the workshop was made possible through the outstanding efforts of the local organising team: Siobhan Abeysinghe, Charlotte Burn, Christine Nicol, and Berit Zimmermann. Special thanks also go to Nicola Blackie, Trinity Camacho, Izzie Faiers, and Louise Whatford for their invaluable support throughout the day.
Group photo of the local organizers in front of the photobooth. Photo: Raúl David Guevara.
A collection of the workshop posters, together with a summary of the breakout discussions, will be made available in the Members Area of the LIFT website at a later date.
Group photo of some core team leaders in front of the photobooth. Photo: Raúl David Guevara.
