8th International Swan Symposium

November 24th-26th, 2026, in Hamburg, Germany

ABOUT

The 8th International Swan Symposium of the IUCN SSC Swan Specialist Group will be held in Hamburg, Germany from the morning of Tuesday 24th November to the evening of Thursday 26th November 2026.

IMPORTANT DATES

Deadline for submitting abstracts: 1st July
Opening of registration: 22th July
Acceptance notifications to authors: 1st August
Finalising the programme: 15th August
Closure of early-bird registration: 1st September
Closure of late registration: 1st November
Symposium in Hamburg: 24-26th November

 

 

VENUE
The symposium will take place at the Museum am Rothenbaum – Cultures and Arts of the World, in short: MARKK. Located in central Hamburg on Rothenbaumchausee 64, the museum is easily accessible by public transportation. The nearest underground (Metro) station is Hallerstraße U-Bahn station, and from there it takes a 5 min walk along the Rothenbaumchaussee to the venue for the symposium. At MARKK, we will have access to the large lecture hall, which has retained its charm since its early days. For a visual tour, follow this Link, click on Play and then choose from right Navigation panel e.g. “Large Lecture Hall”.

ACCOMMODATION
Hamburg is a large city offering a wide range of options to accommodate you according to your individual tastes and budgets. Therefore, we recommend using common platforms or apps such as, for example, booking.com as the most convenient way for you to see and compare those many options. Several hotels are located nearby on the same street as the symposium venue, i.e. on Rothenbaumchaussee, mainly within mid to elevated price range. Budget options are likely to be found at somewhat further distance, but still easily reachable by public transport (e.g. by U-Bahn).

PROGRAMME
The programme will start on the morning of Tuesday 24th November (registration, opening) and will be filled for two days with inspiring presentations and discussions. Thursday 26th November, we plan to go on a field excursion, followed by a visit of the Christmas markets in the Hanseatic city of Lübeck (which is, noteworthy, the birthplace of marzipan). Back in Hamburg, we will end the conference with a banquet.

REGISTRATION
Please first register by completing the Event Registration form below, before you proceed to payment options (i.e., purchase a Ticket). In case you have a voucher (pre-arranged with organizers) please enter it in the registration form.

Note there are two steps required to fulfil your registration, and you will have to type in your email and name in both entries - running on two different platforms (NABU, for registration, and EVENTIM for payment): 1. First register for the Symposium by filling out the Event Registration (open the drop-down list by hitting the small arrow); 2. Then proceed to payments by selecting the relevant Ticket below.

If you find that you’re unable to make the payment (e.g. Ticket button greyed out), or get an error message (in German), please just go backward in your browser and try Stage 2 (“Proceed with Payment”) again.

ABSTRACTS

Abstract submission is closed. If you have questions, please contact the chair of the Scientific Programme Committee. 

GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING YOUR TALK OR POSTER

• Oral presentations should be prepared as PowerPoint slides with 16:9 aspect ratio and structured to run for 15 minutes, with an additional 5 minutes for questions (unless differentially agreed on with the SPC).
• Poster dimensions are limited to A0 size and should be in portrait orientation (1189mm high x 841mm wide).

ORGANISERS & CONTACTS
Contact local organisers: Goetz.Eichhorn@NABU.de 
Contact Scientific Programme Committee: B.Nolet@nioo.knaw.nl

LOCAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Götz Eichhorn (chair), Michael-Otto-Institut im NABU, Bergenhusen, Germany
Frauke Mohrwinkel, Michael-Otto-Institut im NABU, Bergenhusen, Germany
Sabine Urban, Michael-Otto-Institut im NABU, Bergenhusen, Germany

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME COMMITEE
Prof. Bart A. Nolet (chair), Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, The Netherlands; Department of Theoretical and Computational Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dr. Kenneth Abraham, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, Canada
Dr. Preben Clausen, Dept. Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
Dr. Götz Eichhorn, Michael-Otto-Institut im NABU, Bergenhusen, Germany
Prof. Cao Lei, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Dr. Eileen Rees, IUCN SSC Swan Specialist Group, Derbyshire, UK
Dr. Radosław Włodarczyk, Dept. Biodiversity Studies and Bioeducation, University of Łódź, Poland