NORMAN

Date: 22-23 October 2026 from 9:00 - 17:00 (CET), hybrid

Venue: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ in Leipzig, Germany

Background

Chemical pollution is a global challenge that threatens the quality of water, air, soil, and marine environments – key resources for healthy ecosystems and human well-being, biodiversity, food production, and sustainable economic development.

NORMAN is a science-to-policy network that compiles extensive data on chemical pollution across Europe, along with tools and guidance for monitoring, evaluation, and prioritisation of chemicals in different environmental matrices. Through these activities, it often contributes to shaping European policies and regulatory frameworks on chemical pollution and monitoring.

Many countries in the Global South face similar challenges related to chemical pollution, compounded by limited data availability, constrained capacities, and the absence of well-established networks that bring together scientists, monitoring agencies, and decision-makers.

Objectives

This NORMAN Workshop is designed to explore opportunities for involving Global South partners and perspectives into the network to address chemical pollution on a planetary scale. To this end, the workshop will develop strategies to bridge gaps, offer network and database facilities and mutually benefits from bringing together researchers and practitioners from Europe and the Global South and their scientific excellence, enthusiasm and valuable experiences under the umbrella of NORMAN.

Target Audience

1) NORMAN members. Particularly encouraged: NORMAN members (i) with origin in a Global South country, (ii) with experience in Global South collaborations or (iii) with specific interest in Global South collaborations in future.

2) Scientists from Global South with interest in NORMAN

The number of in-person participants is limited to 35

Programme: available soon

Further information for expressions of interest from outside the network will be provided by early September.