Report on the EFS congress in Lisbon
The 18th Congress of the European Federation of Sexology on “Sexuality, Society and Science: evidence and facts” took place in Lisbon from 28th to 30th of May. The event was very lively and well attended, with 447 registrations from people in 39 Countries, including some outside Europe, such as the US, South Africa, and Australia. Most participants were from the host country, Portugal (108), with others from Italy (70) and Spain (55). The scientific program was extensive, including 64 sessions (115 oral presentations, 107 e-posters, 44 oral flash presentations, 39 lectures, 52 symposia, and 8 demo sessions). We think the event was really successful, not only in terms of participation and scientific content (we had more participants and more abstracts than in previous congresses), but also qualitatively: the rooms were all very well attended with enthusiastic participation, and we received a lot of positive feedback about the social activities too. For sure, the documentary “On Queer Aging and Endings ” by Christian Schulz-Quach about Esben Ester Pirelli Benestad, the EFS President, and the English-language reading of poems by Portuguese poet André Tecedeiro during the Opening Ceremony contributed to creating a welcoming and open atmosphere. Two prizes– for best oral and poster presentations– were awarded to recognize excellence in scientific contributions. The winners received free registration for the next EFS congress in 2028. We wait for participants’ comments, hoping that if there were any problems or concerns, we could do even better next time! See you in the next EFS Congress in 2028!