The main theme of this year's congress is 'Animal lives worth living'. This theme focuses on our responsibility for all animals kept or influenced by humans, to ensure that we can provide a life for them that takes into account all relevant aspects of animal welfare, aided by applied ethology as the key scientific discipline. This means not only avoiding and alleviating suffering but also promoting resilience and positive experiences. By monitoring and interpreting animal behaviour, we gain important insights into each of these aspects of quality of life.