To continue to serve the materials science and engineering community, it was resolved to replace ICMAT 2021 with a new fully virtual meeting named International Conference on Materials for Humanity 2021 (MH 21).

This goal of MH 21 was not to replicate ICMAT on-line but to emphasise the role of materials innovation and deployment in tackling global challenges in health, climate change and the environment.

MH 21 arranged around 6 themes that focus attention on pressing needs that should be addressed to enhance the well-being of communities and provide a forum for presenting breakthrough discoveries.

The organisation of MH 21 is as a ‘flipped conference’ where lectures and posters are pre-recorded and made available ahead of the formal conference dates. This will allow delegates to view papers at their own convenience. The 4-day schedule is broken into two 3-hour slots that will make it easier for participants to share in the live forums that discuss the thematic topics.

The delivery of fully online meetings, particularly at large scale, is a new approach and MRS-S would welcome feedback on what worked well and what can be improved.

MH 21 will provide a much-needed forum for researchers around the world to present their latest discoveries and serve as a venue to maintain, strengthen and ignite professional relationships.