Dwarf galaxies offer a valuable insight into the physical processes that govern galaxy formation and evolution at high redshift. These elusive stellar systems are helping astronomers to find answers to some of the most burning questions in extragalactic astronomy. Present-day dwarf galaxies, the easily studied survivors of the primordial galaxy population, are important targets for research in the quest to provide local benchmarks for cosmological studies, in particular theories of structure formation. The proceedings of IAUC198 offer an exciting multidisciplinary collection of research results. The interpretation of the faint blue galaxy excess; the mismatch of the observed dwarf galaxy numbers with popular cosmological model predictions; and the puzzling diversity of star-formation histories among Local Group dwarf elliptical galaxies, are amongst the topical questions covered. Dwarf galaxy specialists and cosmologists map out strategies and outline a framework for progress on important issues related to near-field cosmology with dwarf elliptical galaxies.