The TRACE-RICE project officially launched on 1^st September of 2020 and the first General Assembly took place on 10^th of December. Due to the special COVID-19 situation, we met in a video conference and all 10 partners from 3 countries, in total 36 participants, gathered for half a day with intensive exchanges, discussions and presentations on the various work packages and planning actions of the TRACE-RICE project. The main objective of the General Assembly meeting was for all partners to be better acquainted with one another as well as their research capacities. It was an interesting and interactive online meeting with a fruitful exchange of ideas and all participants left the meeting with new energy to move forward with their respective project activities.