About the ICO/IFOS:

IFOS Membership and How To Apply

On this page:

• IFOS votes to expand membership
  
  
• Membership application and information
  
  
• ICO invites primary international subspecialty societies to join
  
  
• 17 international subspecialty societies join IFOS
  
  
• More national societies join IFOS
  
  
• Principal IFOS and ICO commitments

IFOS votes to expand membership

In 2004, the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS) voted to expand its membership to include international subspecialty societies and other organizations that play a critical role in ophthalmology around the world.

Before then, IFOS voting membership had been limited to the primary national ophthalmological society in each country.

Members of the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO), the executive body of IFOS, and the Advisory Committee to the ICO invited the leading international societies in each subspecialty of ophthalmology to apply.

Membership application and information

The following information on IFOS Membership can be downloaded:

• An application for membership (a .doc file - 40 KB), also available as a PDF file, for easier printing (108 KB)
  
  
• The benefits of IFOS membership and how to apply (PDF - 93 KB)
  
  
• A listing of ICO Programs and Initiatives, with links to the location on the ICO Web site where you can find more information (PDF - 204 KB)
  
  
• A letter of invitation from former ICO President Fritz Naumann, MD (PDF - 184 KB)
  
  
• Criteria for membership (PDF - 54 KB).

Also see:

• IFOS Statutes
  
  
• More about IFOS and the ICO.

ICO invites primary international subspecialty societies to join

At its May 2005 meeting in Florence, the ICO decided to invite the leading international societies in each subspecialty of ophthalmology to apply for membership in IFOS.

The Committee on Criteria for Specialty Society Membership, chaired by Emilio Campos, MD, met in Florence before the Council and recommended keeping the criteria for membership in IFOS flexible but asking and encouraging the societies that play the most significant role internationally in each subspecialty to join.

The Advisory Committee to the ICO, on which all subspecialties are represented, and Council, the executive body of IFOS, agreed with the recommendations of the Committee. Members of the Advisory Committee and Council contacted the leading societies but other subspecialty and related societies can also apply for membership in IFOS.

"We believe that expansion of IFOS is critical to maintaining cohesiveness in ophthalmology throughout the world," said ICO President Fritz Naumann, MD. "We look forward to having more involvement of the subspecialty societies."

17 international subspecialty societies join IFOS

At its February 2006 meeting in São Paulo, the ICO approved the applications of 17 international subspecialty societies and related groups to join the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS).

Representatives of those societies participated in the IFOS General Assembly on February 21. (The Council is the executive body and operational arm of IFOS.)

Until recently, IFOS voting membership had been limited to the primary national ophthalmological society in each country. But IFOS voted in October 2004 to expand in recognition of the critical role that subspecialty societies play in ophthalmology.

New members of IFOS are the:

• Asian Oceanic Glaucoma Society
• Association of International Glaucoma Societies
• Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists, Inc.
• The Cornea Society
• European Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Glaucoma Research Society (previously the Glaucoma Society of the ICO)
• International Medical Contact Lens Council
• International Society for Geographical & Epidemiological Ophthalmology
• International Society for Low-vision Research and Rehabilitation
• International Society of Ocular Oncology
• International Society of Ocular Trauma
• International Society for Ophthalmic Pathology
• The International Uveitis Study Group
• The Macula Society
• Ophthalmic Oncology Group
• South East Asia Glaucoma Interest Group
• Sociedad Panamericana de Retina y Vitreo

More national societies join IFOS

New national societies that joined IFOS in São Paulo were the:

• Haitian Society of Ophthalmology
• Interregional Association of Ophthalmologists, Russia
• Kosovar Association of Ophthalmologists
• The Royal College of Ophthalmologists of Thailand
• Russian Society of Ophthalmologists.

Principal commitments

IFOS and the ICO are focused on:

• Enhancing ophthalmic education, particularly training of ophthalmologists and other eye care personnel to meet public needs in developing countries
  
  
• Stimulating and supporting communication and collaboration among ophthalmologic societies and ophthalmologists globally and their involvement in initiatives to preserve vision
  
  
• Defining and disseminating proposed standards and guidelines in order to enhance eye care
  
  
• Stimulating research to eradicate preventable blindness
  
  
• Raising awareness worldwide of the economic, social and personal impact of vision loss and advocating for increased funding and other support for preservation and restoration of vision.

Next: More on ICO programs

Also see: IFOS Statutes