The Federation of European Nutrition Societies (FENS) is hosting its next conference in Belgrade, Serbia from 14 to 17 November 2023. The previous FENS Conference, hosted by The Nutrition Society in Dublin in October 2019, set a new benchmark for nutrition conferences in Europe. The current signs are that Belgrade will match Dublin for the quality of the programme, the standard of the conference centre and the networking opportunities offered.

FENS2023 will include plenary lectures, scientific symposia, industry symposia, oral communications sessions, poster sessions, and an educational programme as well as an opening lecture and an award lecture. There will be an opening party and a gala dinner.

Plenary speakers are Walter Willett (The search for veritas: enhancing dietary trials and observational studies), Corinna Hawkes (Facilitating food system transformation), Joao Breda (The role of diet and nutrition to ensure high-quality health systems for all), Ellen Blaak (Can nutrition interventions be personalised according to metabolic phenotypes?) and Dirk Haller (Unravelling the complexity of the gut microbiota).

FENS itself has organised 20 symposia around 10 tracks:

  • Nutrition across the life course;
  • Nutrition, metabolism, and chronic diseases;
  • Dietary studies, guidelines, and recommendations;
  • New technologies in nutrition research;
  • Personalised nutrition;
  • Nutrition and the environment, sustainability, and biodiversity;
  • Food science;
  • Dietary bioactives;
  • Nutrition education, consumers, and practitioners;
  • Cultural, societal, and behavioural aspects of diet and nutrition.

The FENS Presidential Symposium will summarise the achievements of the FENS activity around “Ensuring trust in the science of nutrition”. Alongside the FENS-organised symposia, member societies, other organisations and universities have organised symposia (22 so far confirmed with others promised). Full details of confirmed symposia can be found on the conference website under the “Scientific information” tab. This shows the amazing selection of topics on offer and the impressive line-up of invited speakers from right across Europe and beyond. The Nutrition Society is organising a symposium on “School food programmes and impact on future health and well-being: global perspectives” and is co-organising a symposium with the French Nutrition Society on “The role of diet and nutrition before, during and after cancer treatment”.

FENS2023 will be hosted in the newly refurbished Sava Centre with several hotels nearby.

For more information on FENS2023 see https://fens2023.org. Important dates to look out for are 30 April, the deadline for abstract submission, and 10 July the deadline for early bird registration. I think FENS2023 will be THE nutrition conference of 2023 – don’t miss out on being there!

Philip Calder
FENS President