Autophagy is a vital and constitutive cellular recycling process responsible for intracellular degradation of damaged or superfluous cellular components. It also functions as a stress response mechanism that is typically cytoprotective. Dysregulation of autophagy has been implicated in numerous human diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Notably, depending on the specific disease and its stage, autophagy may be either inhibited or hyperactivated, which poses challenges for its therapeutic targeting. Moreover, activation of autophagy has been causally linked to healthy ageing. Advancing our understanding of autophagy and harnessing its potential for therapeutic purposes requires interdisciplinary approaches. In the context of ageing populations in Western societies, autophagy research addresses issues of significant medical and socio-economic relevance. In 2026, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the LS2 Section Autophagy, we plan to organize an international conference at the University of Fribourg focusing on the role of autophagy in development and disease. The event will bring together world-leading experts in protein biochemistry, developmental biology, ageing research, and pharmacological screening, all with a shared focus on cellular recycling processes and autophagy. Invited speakers will present on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of autophagy, its roles in ageing and disease, and the development of large-scale screening approaches to identify pharmacological modulators of autophagy. The conference will provide a platform for discussing interdisciplinary strategies to study and modulate autophagy for the treatment of human diseases.