The kick-off meeting of the recently launched EU-funded project APPEAL took place in a hybrid format on 21-22 March in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, organised by Tuna Toptan Grabmair (JW Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main). The consortium of 13 partners from 6 countries appreciated the great opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss the project goals and tasks, as well as to meet most of the participants in person. We would like to thank Carlos Arauzo Burillo, our Project Officer, for his valuable presentation. The project is off to an excellent start.