On behalf of the Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe (FASE) and Romanian Society of Legal Medicine - the local organizing committee, it is our great pleasure to welcome you to Bucharest for the FASE 3-Day Symposium 2026.
The Balkans represent a unique scientific, historical, and social landscape - one that has profoundly shaped forensic anthropological practice through population diversity, complex taphonomic contexts, post-conflict investigations, and ongoing challenges related to human identification and justice. Hosting this symposium in Bucharest offers an important opportunity to reflect on how regional experience contributes to the development of rigorous, ethical, and evidence-based forensic anthropology across Europe.
Bucharest, Romania provides a particularly meaningful setting for this meeting. As a city shaped by multiple historical layers, legal traditions, and scientific institutions, it reflects many of the complexities that forensic anthropology seeks to address continuity and change, memory and evidence, local specificity and international standards.
Romania’s developing role in forensic and medico-legal sciences further underscores the relevance of convening this discussion here, at the intersection of regional experience and European collaboration.
Over the coming days, the symposium will bring together researchers, practitioners, and early-career professionals to engage in keynote lectures, scientific sessions, workshops, and roundtable discussions. Together, we will explore methodological advances, critically examine limitations and uncertainty, and reflect on the responsibilities of forensic anthropologists working at the intersection of science, law, and human rights with specific attention which will be given to the development of forensic anthropology in the Balkan region. At the same time, the symposium will provide a forum to address the challenges arising from diverse national traditions, legal frameworks, and levels of institutional development, underscoring the necessity of greater harmonization of standards, training, and best practices across Europe. By fostering dialogue between regional experience and European-wide perspectives, this meeting aims to strengthen scientific rigor, transparency, and professional coherence within the discipline.
We hope that this meeting will not only foster scientific exchange and professional dialogue but also strengthen collaboration within the European forensic anthropology community and beyond.
We are confident that the discussions initiated here will contribute meaningfully to the future development of the discipline.
We warmly welcome you to Bucharest and wish you a productive and inspiring symposium.
