Since 2001, the Vilm Summer Academy brings together people from nature conservation authorities and organisations, environmental policy, and voluntary conservation work with researchers from the natural, social, and human sciences, as well as other interested participants. The annual Summer Academies provide a unique forum in Germany to engage in in-depth discussions over several days on a fundamental topic of nature conservation with selected experts and practitioners.The venue is the International Academy for Nature Conservation (INA) of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) on the island of Vilm. 

The aim of the Summer Academy is to explore the respective topic of nature conservation conceptually, strategically, and politically, from an interdisciplinary and particularly ethical perspective.Within the BfN, the International Academy for Nature Conservation offers an open forum for exploring fundamental and policy-relevant questions, linking ethical reflection closely with conservation practice.