Dear friends, dear colleagues,

We warmly welcome you to the 13^th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences (WC13) which will take place from August 31^st to September 4^th, 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

We are very proud to host one of the largest congress in this area in a vibrant location. After over 30 years since its establishment in 1993, for the first time the World Congress takes place in the southern hemisphere. Brazil has a large community working on the research, development and implementation of alternative methods and of the 3Rs principles in different areas. Just recently, on the 30^th of July 2025, Brazil adopted a law on banning the use of experimental animals for cosmetics testing.

We are thrilled to offer a high quality scientific programme covering five main topics including Human Health, Animal Health, Environmental Health, Education, and for the first time One Health. We hope you will get inspired by the 77 scientific sessions, 9 satellite events, 4 early investigators flash presentation sessions and one early career session offered by the programme. The programme comprises six renown key note lectures as well as around 340 oral presentations and 368 poster presentations covering all five main topics of the congress and gathering participants from six different continents.

We are confident that the congress will offer you an excellent platform to network, share best practices, discuss the latest developments in the field and collaborate to help accelerate the progress towards reducing, refining, and replacing the use of animals in scientific research and testing. Rio de Janeiro, where nature meets progress, offers an inspiring scenario for such exchanges. We hope you can enjoy the diversity of its landscapes, its famous beaches, natural reserves, parks, mountains, as well as its historical and cultural heritage including well know bossa nova, chourinho and samba music.

We take this opportunity to give our special thanks to our hosts, FioCruz and BraCVAM, to the Scientific Committee, the Local Organizing Committee and the Communication Committee, as well as to all sponsors, exhibitors, supporters and participants who have made this congress possible.

Looking forward to meeting you and help shaping the future direction of research and policy in this area, contributing to the promotion of more humane and scientifically sound approaches to advancing the life sciences.

Enjoy the 13^th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences in Rio de Janeiro!