19/09/2025 | ZMT’s social sciences groups will host the Leibniz Environment and Development Symposium (LEADS) on 10 - 11 December 2025. This lunch-to-lunch gathering is designed for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to present advanced full paper drafts and receive structured feedback. Each paper is assigned a discussant who reads the draft in advance, followed by open debate with participants offering deeper input than standard conference formats.
A highlight of this year’s programme is a keynote lecture by Professor Gerardo Damonte (PUCP, Lima, Peru) on resource use conflicts in Peru, setting the stage for critical conversations at the environment-development interface.
CALL FOR PAPERS
LEADS invites submissions of original research addressing challenges at the nexus of environment and development. Researchers within and beyond the Leibniz Association are equally welcome. Please send at least an extended abstract (ideally a full draft) in English, as a PDF, to
Decisions will be communicated by 31 October and final papers are due 1 December. The conference language is English; participation is free of charge, and invited presenters need to cover their own travel expenses.
ABOUT LEADS
The symposium is jointly organised by Leibniz institutes ATB, GIGA, IGZ, RWI, PIK, ZALF and ZMT to foster interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration among ECRs and senior scholars in Germany and internationally. This year LEADS 2025 is hosted by ZMT in Bremen.
Academic committee: Tilman Brück (IGZ/HU), Marie Fujitani (ZMT), Philipp Grundmann (ATB), Jann Lay (GIGA), Lasse Loft (ZALF), Ben Nagel (ZMT), Anette Ruml (GIGA), Maximiliane Sievert (RWI), Barbora Šedová (PIK), Achim Schlüter (ZMT/Uni Bremen).
Local organisers: Achim Schlüter, Ben Nagel, Sara Herrmann.
Contacts 
Working Groups 
Download Call for Papers as PDF