The European Commission is organising a scientific conference in Brussels on 6 and 7 December 2016 to engage the scientific community and relevant stakeholders in a debate on how to exploit cutting edge advances in biomedical and other research in the development of scientifically valid non-animal approaches (alternatives to animal testing). 

The conference will bring together people from different countries, scientific disciplines and sectors with expertise in research involving animals and / or non-animal alternative approaches. Through scientific presentations and panel discussions attendees will explore the current benefits and limitations of different models, and consider how to improve the quality and predictivity of models used in research, including approaches to accelerate non-animal alternatives.

Participants will be invited to discuss and propose recommendations to the European Commission, research community and other stakeholders about:

• the validity of animal models today in different sectors
• current state of play and way(s) forward for non-animal approaches in different areas of research and testing
• most promising technologies and approaches which offer prospects for significantly reducing and replacing animals in R&D
• best practice to advance research integrity, funding and reporting

The conference was announced in the European Commission Communication responding to the European Citizens Initiative "Stop Vivisection" and is one of four actions that should contribute towards the goal of, ultimately, phasing out animal testing. The other three actions are: (1) accelerating progress in the Three R's through knowledge sharing, (2) development, validation and implementation of new alternative approaches, (3) enforcement of compliance with the Three R's principle and alignment of relevant sector legislation. The conference will include a session to report progress on these three actions.

The conference is a public event and free of charge. However, the invited participants are expected to be experts in the field and able to contribute constructively to the discussions.