Life is an extremely complex puzzle – how did it begin? To answer this question necessitates extensive co-operation between areas of sciences, even ones such as philosophy, because complex and multi-faceted investigation and evaluation processes are required. Other areas which demand our attention are a deeper understanding of the self-organising properties of nature and an appreciation of the fact that the reactions of life may were more probable than improbable. With this in mind, the network of researchers on the origin of life and other like-minded scientists interested in answering the question of the emergence of life on Earth or elsewhere in the Universe convened to air and share their research and  theories during the  2018 conference on the 5-6 November 2018 at the Eugenides Foundation in Athens, Greece.