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International Council of Ophthalmology

World Ophthalmology Congress :

WOC 2010, June 5-9 in Berlin


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WOC 2010: Early Bird Registration Until 9 February

Register before 9 February, 2010 to take advantage of special “Early Bird” Registration pricing.

Stephen Ryan, MD, will chair an outstanding Scientific Program designed to address global concerns. A special social highlight will be a Bavarian-style Oktoberfest called “WOCtoberfest” with beer, German food and entertainment for WOC attendees and their families. To read more details about this year’s World Congress, see the January 2010 ICO Leader Letter.

For the most complete information, visit the WOC 2010 Web site at www.woc2010.org. You can sign up to receive email updates at www.woc2010.org/request-information.html, or contact the WOC 2010 at pco@woc2010.de.

ICO to Honor Medal and Award Winners at WOC 2010, June 5–9 in Berlin

Congratulations to the recipients of the ICO Medals and Awards who will be recognized at the WOC 2010 opening ceremonies this June in Berlin:

  • Gonin Medal for outstanding work or research: Alan Bird, MD (United Kingdom)

  • International Duke Elder Medal for the development of international relations and friendship between ophthalmologists: Mohammed Daud Khan, MD (Pakistan)

  • Jules Francois Golden Medal for ophthalmic work of high scientific quality: Gisele Soubrane, MD, PhD (France)

  • ICO Ophthalmic Pathology Award: Ursula Schlotzer-Schrehardt, PhD (Germany)

Experts Enrich WOC Scientific Program

Berlin is a city of science, technology, innovation and invention. It is also the city of Hermann von Helmholtz and Albrecht von Graefe, two great men whose work has inspired generations of ophthalmologists.

It is in this spirit that the world’s experts in ophthalmology will gather together at WOC 2010 to share recent developments and their latest contributions in the scientific program. Over 3,000 speakers from around the world will present a wide variety of topics in more than 600 sessions.

The WOC is fortunate that so many outstanding ophthalmologists will participate in the 2010 WOC scientific program.

An excellent subspecialty program is also planned with subspecialty days in cataract surgery, refractive surgery, glaucoma and retina. More details will be available in the WOC 2010 advance program, due to be released January 31.

Experience Berlin and WOCtoberfest

The vibrant and cosmopolitan city of Berlin invites you not only for its science but to show you its dynamic personality.

After taking in the WOC scientific program, there will be plenty of time to explore and enjoy Berlin. The city offers of a host of cultural events, a unique architectural landscape, spectacular shopping venues, many bars and restaurants offering German and international cuisine, and a vibrant nightlife.

Meet old friends and make new ones at the Bavarian-style “WOCtoberfest,” Monday, June 7 from 19:00–24:00. Guests will be treated to a lively intercultural evening with traditional Octoberfest brass band music, beer and Bavarian specialties (there will also be non-alcoholic drinks and vegetarian food).

For more information on the WOC 2010 social program, including the WOC Opening Ceremony, Reception, the WOC in Concert, and seeing the sights in Berlin, visit www.woc2010.org/social-program.

World Forum on Vision and Prevention of Blindness

The second World Forum on Vision and Prevention of Blindness Symposia will be held at WOC 2010 in Berlin.

This forum will feature presentations from non-governmental development organizations (NGOs) and ophthalmological societies on initiatives to preserve and protect vision around the world.

The ICO organized the first World Forum on Vision and Prevention of Blindness during the World Ophthalmology Congress in São Paulo in 2006.

Among the topics this year are:

  • NGO/Private Sector Partnerships: Win/Win or Conflicting Agendas?
  • Sustainable Eye Health Programs: Where Does the Government Fit in?
  • Changing Realities of Eye Care: What is Needed Most to Prevent Blindness in Developing Countries?
  • Innovative Approaches to Addressing Cataract, Glaucoma, and Diabetic Retinopathy in the Developing World
  • The New Realities of Non-Governmental Development in 2010 and Beyond.

Dates and details for these sessions will be available soon.

VISION 2020 Symposia at WOC 2010

The World Ophthalmology Congress in Berlin will be an opportune time to discuss VISION 2020 and advocacy topics among the world’s ophthalmologists.

A sample list of VISION 2020 Symposia topics:

  • Vision 2020: 10 Years on, 10 Years to Go
  • Africa: Can We Succeed in the Greatest Challenge to Blindness Prevention?
  • Beyond Vertical Programs: Challenges and Success in Building Comprehensive Eye Care Within a Health Care System
  • Brain Drain: Challenges and Solutions
  • Refractive Error from School Age through Presbyopia: Combating the World’s Leading Cause of Visual Disability
  • The Economics of Blindness: What Does Lost Vision Cost, How Much Can Prevention Save?

For more details on these and other subjects, download the WOC 2010 preliminary program:
www.woc2010.org/uploads/media/WOC2010_Pre_Program_e21209_01.pdf.

WOC 2010 Preliminary Program Now Available

Perhaps the most compelling reason to go to Berlin for WOC 2010 next June 5-9 is the outstanding scientific program. The WOC Preliminary Program is now available at: www.woc2010.org/fileadmin/media/newsletter/WOC2010_PreProgram_en_01.pdf. (PDF – 2.4 MB).

Planned by Chair Professor Stephen J. Ryan (United States), and Co-Chairs Professor Bernd Bertram and Professor Gabriele E. Lang (both of Germany), the scientific program includes more than 3,000 international experts covering a wide range of topics in more than 600 sessions. Free paper presentations, electronic posters, and videos will further stimulate your interest.

Free WOC Registration for Official ICO Representatives

All ICO Member Organizations are invited to attend the ICO General Assembly on June 5, 2010 at the WOC in Berlin. The Congress offers free registration for the official Representative to the ICO from each member society, so that every member can participate.

All ICO Member societies are asked to select an official ICO Representative as soon as possible. Please send their name, e-mail address, country, and society name to info@icoph.org. The ICO will then arrange Congress registration for the official representative. (Member societies must have paid their 2010 dues to receive this free registration.)

WOC Registration Fees Support the Prevention of Visual Loss

The World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC), next June 5-9 in Berlin, will be a wonderful opportunity to learn about the latest advances in ophthalmology from internationally recognized experts. Your WOC registration is your ticket to great science, networking and social events, and it is also a pledge of support in the fight against visual loss.

Did you know some of the income from the WOC supports important education and prevention of visual loss programs? WOC registration fees allow the ICO to offer key programs such as International Fellowships, residency program director training, and other programs for ophthalmologists in developing countries.

Attending the WOC is about learning the latest in clinical ophthalmology and professional growth, but also about something bigger––supporting the prevention of visual loss. Register soon (www.woc2010.org/information-for-participants/online-registration.html) for the World Ophthalmology Congress in June 2010 in Berlin. We thank you for your support.

WOC 2010 Registration Now Open

WOC® 2010 registration is now open, including the call for abstracts and the preliminary program.

Stephen Ryan, MD, will chair an outstanding Scientific Program designed to address global concerns. A special social highlight will be a Bavarian-style Oktoberfest called “WOCtoberfest” with beer, German food and entertainment for WOC attendees and their families.

For more information, visit the WOC 2010 Web site at www.woc2010.org/. You can sign up to receive email updates at www.woc2010.org/request-information.html, or contact the WOC 2010 at pco@woc2010.de.

WOC 2010 Berlin logo2010 World Congress in Berlin

The next World Ophthalmology Congress® will be June 5 – 9, 2010, in Berlin, hosted by the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG) and co-hosted by the German Academy of Ophthalmology (AAD).

Congress President Gerhard Lang, MD, reported to the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) in Hong Kong on plans for the 2010 WOC, which will incorporate XXXII World Ophthalmology Congress , the 108th Congress of the DOG  and AAD 2010.

2008 WOC Scientific Program Director Stephen Ryan, MD, will work with Professor Gabriele Lang, MD, on the scientific program for Berlin, with Congress General Secretary Anselm Kampik, MD, organizing the program for the AAD. The 2010 WOC will also offer subspecialty days and instruction courses.

The main social event will be a Bavarian-style Octoberfest, to be called the WOCtoberfest. For more information, see www.woc2010.org.

The World Ophthalmology Congress was previously held in Germany in Heidelberg in 1888 and Munich in 1966.

MEACO will host 2012 WOC in Abu Dhabi

At its meeting in Hong Kong, the ICO approved Abu Dhabi, capital city of the United Arab Emirates, as the site for 2012 World Ophthalmology Congress®, which will be hosted by the Middle East African Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO),16-20 February, 2012.

"We are excited to be meeting in Abu Dhabi in 2012," commented ICO President Bruce E. Spivey, MD, who visited Abu Dhabi with ICO Executive Director Bill Felch just prior to the WOC in Hong Kong. "It is an appealing location with excellent facilities and a strong commitment to support the WOC.”

“This is the first time in 150 years that the World Ophthalmology Congress will be held in the Middle East African Region, and MEACO proposed Abu Dhabi as the site,” said MEACO President Abdulaziz AlRajhi, MD. “MEACO will strive to fulfill the trust placed in it by the ICO and the international ophthalmic community and make this a truly historic meeting.”

The 2012 WOC was originally scheduled in Chicago in conjunction with the American Academy of Ophthalmology. But the WOC developed into a major international Congress, and ICO and Academy leaders agreed in 2007 that it would be impossible for the WOC to fit within the framework of the AAO Annual Meeting or for the Academy to fit within a WOC.

The Council invited the Middle East African Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) to host the 2012 WOC and has now approved Abu Dhabi as the site.

2014 WOC will be in early April in Tokyo

In March 2007, the ICO selected the Japanese Ophthalmological Society as the host for the 2014 World Ophthalmology Congress®, in Tokyo. It has been scheduled for April 2-6 at the Tokyo International Forum, during cherry blossom time.

2016 WOC in the Americas, Host To Be Selected in 2010

At its meeting in Hong Kong, the ICO approved a recommendation from its Strategic Planning Committee and Officers that the World Ophthalmology Congress®, rotate in the future among four regions: Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East/Africa and the Americas. Previously, the Congress rotated among three regions, with Europe, the Middle East and Africa combined into one.

The 2016 WOC will be in the Americas. It will have been 10 years by then since the previous meeting in the Americas, in Sao Paulo in 2006. Proposals for sites for the 2016 WOC will be due early in 2010, for consideration by the ICO Board when it meets in Berlin in June 2010.

The 2018 WOC will be in Europe, and ICO Board will consider proposals for that Congress when it meets in 2012 in Abu Dhabi.

See the new Policy on Future World Ophthalmology Congresses adopted in Hong Kong.

2008 World Ophthalmology Congress® attracts 13,000

WOC 2008 Hong Kong Welcomes You

With 10,500 ophthalmologists and 2,500 exhibitors and other participants from 105 countries and territories, the 2008 World Ophthalmology Congress®, June 28 – July 2 in Hong Kong, was the largest ever.

Based on feedback from registrants, it was also one of the best, even though Typhoon Feizen brushed Hong Kong as many were arriving and left behind days of rain. The Congress was praised for the breadth and depth of the scientific program, excellent organization and staffing and unforgettable social events.

Sponsored by the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO), the Congress was hosted by the College of Ophthalmologist of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Ophthalmological Society and co-hosted by the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology and Chinese Ophthalmological Society.

The 2008 WOC incorporated the XXXI World Ophthalmology Congress , XXII Congress of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, XIII Congress of the Chinese Ophthalmological Society and XX Hong Kong Ophthalmological Symposium.

Congress President Dennis Lam, MD, called it the “Olympics of ophthalmology.”

Highlights of the 2008 WOC

Among the highlights of the World Ophthalmology Congress® in Hong Kong:

  • More than 1100 internationally recognized speakers in 319 scientific sessions, many organized by more than 40 international, supranational, national and subspecialty ophthalmologic societies

  • 200 submitted free papers and more than 3600 posters

  • 34 symposia sponsored by industry with seven live surgery sessions

  • A Subspecialty Day focused on cataract and refractive surgery, glaucoma, and retina

  • More than 3000 registrants from Mainland China, with 70 sessions, 500 presentations and 1600 posters in the Chinese Ophthalmological Society program

  • The first World Ophthalmic Education Colloquium (WOEC), with more than 100 speakers on educational initiatives in 18 symposia

  • The second World Forum of Non-Profit Organizations in Vision and Blindness Prevention and 19 sessions related to VISION 2020

  • Dazzling social events that featured Chinese cuisine and culture, including a fluorescent dragon dance and traditional Bian Lian or “face changing” performance at the Opening Ceremonies.

ICO offers selected WOC presentations online

Supported by a grant from Genentech, the ICO has made 26 selected presentations from the World Ophthalmology Congress in Hong Kong available at:

ico.scientificabstracts.org.

These presentations combine slides with audio. You will need to advance the slides manually to match the words of the speaker.

Also available are all of the slide presentations from the World Ophthalmic Education Colloquium. The welcome page for the site describes how to select and view the various presentations.

Other WOC reports and photos available

Ocular Surgery News published the WOC Daily in Hong Kong, with sections of each issue in Chinese. Copies can be downloaded at: www.osnsupersite.com/view.asp?rID=29552

OSN also offers reports on many presentations from the Congress at: www.osnsupersite.com/setContent.asp?setID=405

To view or download photos and videos from the WOC, visit the Congress Web site at: www.woc2008hongkong.org/woc/index09_3.shtml

Thanks to WOC Corporate Sponsors

The ICO and WOC thank the following companies for their generous contributions to the WOC 2008:

Diamond sponsors: Alcon, Allergan and AMO

Platinum Sponsors: Novartis, Pfizer and Santen

Gold Sponsors: Bausch & Lomb, Leica Microsystems, MSD, Nidek, Staar Surgical, Tomcon, Carl Zeiss Meditec.

Upcoming supranational society congresses

  • March 26 - 28, 2009, X International Congress of the Middle East African Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO), Bahrain (www.meaco.org)

  • May 16 - 19, 2009, 24th Congress of the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, Bali, Indonesia (www.apao2009bali.org)

  • June 13  - 16, 2009, 17th Congress of the European Society of Ophthalmology, Amsterdam (www.soe2009.org)

  • October 24 - 27, 2009, Joint Meeting of the 29th Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology and the 113th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, San Francisco, California, USA

Other upcoming congresses and meetings

  • January 15 – 18, 2009, Asia ARVO 2009, Hyderabad, India (www.asiaarvo2009.org), co-sponsored by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and the Indian Eye Research Group

  • September 30 - October 3, 2009, European Association for Vision and Eye Research (EVER), Portoroz, Slovenia (www.ever.be/c_page.php?id=212)

2006 World Congress exceeds expectations

logo for XXX International Congress of Ophthalmology February 19 - 24, 2006 in S‚Äö√†√∂¬¨¬£o PauloThe 2006 World Ophthalmology Congress®, on February 19 – 24 in São Paulo, Brazil exceeded all expectations, with more than 12,000 registrants from 120 countries.

The Congress was also the 30th World Ophthalmology Congress, 26th Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology and 17th Brazilian Congress of Prevention of Blindness.

"This was the best International Congress since 1857," commented ICO President Fritz Naumann, MD. The first World Ophthalmology Congress was in 1857 in Brussels, and the Congress is the longest continuing international meeting in all of medicine.

Highlights of the 2006 World Congress included:

  • the first-ever World Forum of Non-Profit Organizations on Vision and Prevention of Blindness
  • four "Subspecialty Days," one-day immersion programs led by top ophthalmologists on glaucoma, retina, cataract and cornea and refractive surgery
  • 2,500 speakers from all ophthalmic subspecialties and all regions of the world
  • 400 scientific sessions with 4000 presentations
  • Opening Ceremonies, a WOCarnival Ball and other social events that introduced registrants to the music and flavors of Brazil.

It was the first World Ophthalmology Congress held in South America.

WOC Registration Policy

In 2005, the ICO established an official policy that states: All speakers, presenters and members of the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and other co-sponsoring and hosting organizations must pay registration fees of the World Ophthalmology Congress.

We regret that that is simply not possible to provide speakers and other officials complimentary registration, travel or hotel expenses.

Members and Leaders of the International Council of Ophthalmology pay their own expenses and registration for the World Ophthalmology Congresses. There is only one exception to this policy, which is free registration for one Official Representative from ICO Member Society to attend the Congress and participate in the ICO General Assembly.

The proceeds from the World Ophthalmology Congress are divided between the hosts and the ICO, which uses the fees to enhance ophthalmic education and improve access to the highest quality eye care, particularly in developing countries.

Some of the ICO programs supported by the Congress are:

  • Fellowships for ophthalmologists from developing countries
  • Assessment exams given annually around the world to help ophthalmologists evaluate their basic and clinical knowledge
  • Definition of international curricula for ophthalmic education of residents, medical students and allied health personnel and guidelines for continuing medical education in ophthalmology
  • Regional courses for residency training program directors
  • Initiatives to enhance ophthalmic education and develop future leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Establishment of a Diabetic Eye Disease Center in Beijing
  • Definition of international clinical guidelines and standards
  • Advocacy for prevention of blindness and visual impairment at the international and national levels
  • Support for development of ophthalmologic societies and society leaders
  • Participation in VISION 2020: The Right To Sight and other international initiatives to preserve and restore vision
  • Promotion of research, particularly epidemiologic and operational research focused on conditions prevalent in underserved areas.


Next: More News of World Ophthalmology Congresses

Also see: XXIX Congress in Sydney, 2002

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