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ICO Notes
Remembering Yasuo Tano

February 2010

Dear ICO Members and Friends,

I have a few reports for you this month:

ICO Yasuo Tano Fellowship and WOC Tano Travel Grant

It has been over a year since we lost our friend and colleague, Yasuo Tano, MD, ICO Treasurer, President of the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology and former Japanese Ophthalmological Society (JOS) President. His sudden death was a shock to us all and he is sorely missed.

To honor Yasuo and his many contributions to international ophthalmology, the ICO has established the ICO Yasuo Tano International Fellowship to be awarded each year to an ophthalmologist from a developing country selected by the ICO Fellowship Program to complete a Fellowship in Japan.

In addition, the JOS has created the World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) Tano Travel Grant to send 80 young Japanese ophthalmologists to Berlin for the WOC 2010 and to Abu Dhabi for WOC 2012. They also plan to assist doctors from developing countries in their travel to Tokyo for WOC 2014.

(Please mark your calendars: The 2012 World Ophthalmology Congress will be February 16 - 20, 2012 in Abu Dhabi. The 2014 WOC will be April 2 - 6, 2014 in Tokyo.)

WOC 2010 Hotel and Travel Arrangements

Now is the time to plan your trip to Berlin for WOC 2010. Hotel rooms in various price categories can be booked via HRS, the worldwide hotel reservation service.

The Star Alliance Member Airlines are the Official Airline Network for WOC 2010. You can save up to 20% on air travel if you choose to fly with airlines in the Star Alliance Network. The Deutsche Bahn AG (German Federal Railways) is also offering savings on train travel.

Complete details and information is available on the WOC 2010 Web site travel page: www.woc2010.org/hotels-and-travel/hotel-reservation.html.

ICOFoundation Leadership

Dr. Hilel Lewis has served with distinction as the ICOFoundation President through 2009. His dramatically increased responsibilities in the Middle East made it impossible for him to continue as President, and he has stepped down from that position but will remain on the ICOFoundation Board of Directors.

I am pleased to announce that the ICOFoundation Board has voted to elect Professor Stephen Ryan, MD as a member of the Board effective January 1, 2010 and President of the ICOFoundation effective January 1, 2011.

Bradley Straatsma, MD, PhD, will be the President until Steve Ryan takes over in 2011. I would like to express my personal and professional gratitude to Dr. Lewis for his service and to Professor Ryan and Dr. Straatsma for accepting these very important positions in international ophthalmology.

We are delighted for their commitments to both the ICOFoundation and the International Council of Ophthalmology

ICO Contributes To Haiti Relief

It has been six weeks since the earthquake in Haiti, and the death toll is now estimated to be over 200,000 with reports of 300,000 injured, 250,000 homes destroyed and 30,000 businesses lost.

In last month's ICO notes (archive.icoph.org/news/ico1001.html) I described the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology's (PAAO) Haiti Relief Project.

The Pan-American Ophthalmological Foundation made an initial pledge of US $10,000 to start this campaign, and the ICO and ICOFoundation have matched this pledge with a contribution of $10,000. You may download a full report on the activities of this project here: archive.icoph.org/pdf/PAAOHaitiRelease.pdf.

To make a donation, visit the PAAO's secure Web page: www.paao.org/donateforhaiti.html.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has joined forces with the PAAO and has formed the Task Force on Haiti Recovery. More information on how to contribute and volunteer is available at www.aao.org/haiti/task-force.cfm.

Again, I encourage you to donate what you can, either to the Pan-American Haiti Relief Project or other organizations that are providing support.

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