About the ICO:
Dedicated To Preservation of Vision
More on the ICO:
- ICO Home
- ICO and Ophthalmologic Society News
- Contact Information
- ICO Membership
- Board of Trustees Members
- Members of the Advisory Committee
- Other Committees
- ICO Mission and Principal Commitments
- ICO Structure and Function
- ICO Programs
- Minutes
- Committee Reports
- ICO Statutes
- Regulations of the ICO
- Regulations of the World Ophthalmology Congress
- Regulations of Awards
- Terms of Use
- Privacy Policy
- Accessibility
On this page:
- International Council of Ophthalmology
- ICO Mission
- Principal Commitments
- ICO Programs
- What Are Ophthalmologists?
International Council of Ophthalmology
Bruce Spivey, MD
The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) represents and serves professional associations of ophthalmologists throughout the world.
The Board of Trustees of the International Council of Ophthalmology is the executive body and operational arm of the ICO.
The roots of the ICO date back to 1857 when 150 ophthalmologists from 24 countries convened in Brussels for the first World Ophthalmology Congress .
Participants in the Congress founded the ICO in 1927 in Scheveningen, Holland.
ICO Mission
The ICO works with ophthalmologic societies, ophthalmologists and others to enhance ophthalmic education and the provision of eye care in order to preserve and protect vision for all people worldwide.
Principal Commitments
The ICO is 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.
ICO Programs
Among the principle programs and activities of the ICO are:
- the World Ophthalmology Congress, which is held every two years in a different region of the world
- the ICO International Basic Science Assessment and Clinical Sciences Assessment for Ophthalmologists
- ICO International Fellowship
- ICO International Clinical Guidelines
- Other ICO initiatives in ophthalmic education
- Advocacy for preservation of vision
- Vision for the Future, the International Ophthalmology Strategic Plan to Preserve and Restore Vision
- Research Agenda for Global Blindness Prevention
- The Eye Site and other communications initiatives.
Also see: More on ICO programs
What are ophthalmologists?
Ophthalmologists are physicians who specialize in the medical and surgical care of the eyes and visual system and in the prevention of eye disease and injury.
An ophthalmologist is a medically trained specialist who can deliver total eye care (i.e., vision services, eye examinations, medical eye care and surgical eye care), diagnose general diseases of the body and treat ocular manifestations of systemic diseases.
Next: Contact the ICO
Also see: ICO initiatives in ophthalmic education