On 18 -19 February, the EuChemS Executive Board met in Lisbon, Portugal for the first Executive Board meeting of the year. Discussions focused on a wide range of issues, including upcoming activities and initiatives for the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT2019), as well as next year’s 50-year anniversary of EuChemS (initially known as FECS). Following discussions, the Executive Board was given the opportunity of visiting the congress centre which will host the 8^th EuChemS Chemistry Congress in 2020!