The webinar reached its initial goal of bringing together the different souls that make up the Experimental Hydraulics community, so as to foster the communication between them.

Each day was opened by two keynote lectures from established and young researchers, who are actively pushing the boundaries of laboratory measurement techniques in hydraulics. These were typically followed by a presentation from industry representatives. The second part was exclusively dedicated to young scientists and students, who delivered the 5 minutes long presentations. Twenty seven short presentations were mostly focused on the new or established techniques, applied in both laboratory and field conditions, discussing their applicability, efficiency, preliminary results etc. After each few presentations, a vivid discussion followed, where questions, insights and comments helped to understand critical issues. The answers from keynotes and presenters showed how important it is to have a practitioner overview on new techniques. Towards the end of the webinar, keynote speakers, presenters, and attendees engaged in a spontaneous conversation about the future of the discipline, which highlighted the importance of advancing the state of the art while preserving and enhancing the democratic access to high quality experimental instrumentation, and fighting financial barriers. Overall, the breadth of topics covered by the presentations and the level of participation to the discussions, show just how active and alive the field is, and how fundamental it is for practitioners and for researchers at different career stages to interact and learn from each other.

Despite some undeniable limitations, the online format was also an occasion to attract a wider audience, who would have otherwise been excluded from an in-person meeting due to financial or time constraints. From this point of view, like for instrumentation, technology can cut costs and facilitate access, making it possible to exchange and share information more effectively within the community as well as across disciplines. That is an opportunity that should not be lost once in-person meetings resume. The door is wide open for future similar initiatives. (EMLIH LOC)