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ICO Notes
Creating Your WOC 2010 Schedule

May 2010

Dear ICO Members and Friends,

As we all anticipate the World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) next month, there are a few brief reports and announcements:

Education and Prevention of Visual Loss at WOC 2010

I hope you are planning to attend the World Ophthalmology Congress in Berlin next month. If so, please consider marking your calendars to attend the various symposia that relate to education and the prevention of visual loss, including the World Ophthalmic Education Colloquium and the third World Forum of Prevention of Blindness.

On Monday and Tuesday, June 7 - 8, the ICO Education Committee will offer eight symposia highlighting the various aspects of ophthalmic education as part of the World Ophthalmic Education Colloquium (WOEC). You can download this year's program from www.icoph.org/pdf/WOEC.pdf (PDF - 84 KB).

The third World Forum of Prevention of Blindness, June 5, 6, 8, and 9, offers four symposia covering non-governmental development, changing realities in eye care, NGO and private sector partnerships, and sustainable eye health programs.

I would also encourage you to attend VISION 2020: 10 Years On, 10 Years to Go on Sunday, June 6 from 16:00 - 17:30 in Hall 9. Seven presentations will highlight the initiative's progress and how developing, mid-level, and developed countries are addressing the challenges. The role of advocacy and next steps will complete this important session.

Please see the final scientific program on the WOC Web site, www.woc2010.org/scientific-program, for more details. If you have already registered for WOC 2010, you can login to create your own personal WOC schedule here: www.m-anage.com/default.aspx?event=woc.

ICO Meetings at WOC 2010

In addition to the variety of ICO-sponsored sessions at the WOC, the ICO leadership will meet to discuss a wide variety of issues and to consider new projects.

The ICO Officers and Strategic Planning Committee, Advisory Committee and the ICO Board of Trustees will each gather to consider a broad range of topics, including Board membership, a new strategic planning process for the ICO, and the further development of Regional Ophthalmic Training Centers.

The ICO Education, Advocacy, Examinations, Clinical Guidelines and Research Committees, and the International Classification of Diseases-11 and Uncorrected Refractive Error Task Forces will also meet to advance their plans and initiatives, as will a new ICO Advisory Group on Sub-Saharan Africa, chaired by Secretary-General Jean-Jacques De Laey, MD.

Again, the ICO General Assembly will be Saturday, June 5 from 14:00 to 17:00 in Hall 7 at the International Congress Center in Berlin. Member Representatives can sign in for the General Assembly starting at 13:30. We will have a stimulating discussion on the future of international ophthalmology and the ICO, as well as strategic priorities for improving eye care and new horizons for ophthalmic education.

See April's ICO Notes for a complete description and invitation to the General Assembly. The agenda is available here: www.icoph.org/pdf/ICOGeneralAssemblyAgenda2010.pdf (PDF - 126 KB).

I look forward to reporting news and outcomes from these meetings.

Luncheon Meeting of Advocates, June 5 in Berlin

As a reminder, there will be a luncheon meeting of the "Advocates" who have been named by societies to work with the ICO on increasing support for eye care and prevention of visual loss from 12:00 to 13:30 on Saturday, June 5 in Salon 10/11 at the International Convention Center at the World Ophthalmology Congress in Berlin. Advocates who plan to attend should RSVP to advocacy@icoph.org no later than May 21st if they haven't already.

The purpose of the meeting is to inform Advocates about international initiatives to increase support for eye care and suggest how Advocates and their societies can contribute most. We held a similar meeting at the World Ophthalmology Congress in Hong Kong, and participants found it very valuable.

Serge Resnikoff, MD, PhD, ICO Director for Advocacy, will talk about what advocacy means, the role of Advocates and how they can contribute to VISION 2020. Hugh Taylor, AC, MD, and Iain Dunlop, FRANZCO, FRACS, will highlight how VISION 2020 Australia convinced the Australian government to allocate AUD $45 million to support eye care programs in the Asia Pacific region.

The full agenda for the luncheon meeting is available at www.icoph.org/pdf/ICOAdvocacyLunchJune5Berlin.pdf (PDF - 100 KB).

Encouraging Continuing Professional Development

Last month, Continuing Medical Education Task Force Chair Juan Verdaguer, MD, sent an e-mail to society presidents and society Continuing Medical Education (CME) representatives outlining an example of a Points System for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). That document is available for download at www.icoph.org/pdf/ContinuingProfDevelMar2010.pdf (PDF - 144 KB).

The intent of this document is to provide an example for societies that do not have a CME system. If your society does have such a system, there may be some parts of this example that you want to adopt. A more advanced CME/CPD system may include self-assessment, personal learning plans and portfolios.

Particularly for societies without a CME system, Dr. Verdaguer and the CME Task Force would be interested to know if you find this system to be helpful, or if you have comments on this example.

If you have a response, or did not receive the mailing, please contact Dr. Verdaguer at cme@icoph.org.

With warm regards,

Bruce

Bruce Spivey, MD, MS, MEd
President, International Council of Ophthalmology

945 Green Street
San Francisco, CA, 94133, USA
Fax: (1-415) 409-8403
spivey@icoph.org
www.icoph.org