Our colloquium and masterclass on ‘Early-warning signals for critical transitions: bridging the gap between theory and practice’ will be hosted by the Dutch Royal Science and Arts Society (KNAW) from 10 to 12 of October 2012 in Amsterdam. This is going to be the first official kick-off of the Early Warning Signals Toolbox and SparcS – the Synergy Program for Analyzing Resilience and Critical transitionS!