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IFOS Notes:
December 1 Deadline To Apply To Join IFOS
Dear IFOS Members and Potential Members,
The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) is gratified to see the strong positive response of international subspecialty societies to our invitation to join the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS).
In this issue of “IFOS Notes,” I report to current and potential IFOS members on:
- applications for IFOS membership and plans for the IFOS General Assembly
- news of the World Ophthalmology Congress in February
- mailing of IFOS dues notices
- the benefits of IFOS membership and ICO programs and initiatives.
To review previous “IFOS Notes,” see: www.icoph.org/news/ifos.html.
1. December 1 Deadline To Apply To Join IFOS Next Year
Eighteen international ophthalmologic subspecialty societies and related organizations have applied to become members of IFOS so far, and others have told us that they plan to apply.
December 1 is the deadline for societies to file an application in order to be considered for IFOS membership when the International Council of Ophthalmology meets in February 2006. If approved, they can participate in the next IFOS General Assembly on Tuesday, February 21 in São Paulo, Brazil, during the World Ophthalmology Congress (the XXX International Congress of Ophthalmology).
The Congress is generously providing free registration to the official IFOS Representatives from both new and current IFOS members.
All international subspecialty societies are eligible to join IFOS, but the Council invited the primary international societies in each subspecialty or related area to join. Most of those invited have applied for membership.
The ICO, which is the executive body of IFOS, will consider applications for IFOS membership when it meets on February 19 in São Paulo.
Societies that are approved for membership then will be eligible to have a Representative at the IFOS General Assembly, which will be from 11:00 to 14:00 on Tuesday, February 21 at the Transamérica Expo Center & Hotel in São Paulo. So we are asking applicants to name an IFOS Representative ahead of time, pending approval.
New and current IFOS members will be recognized at the Opening Ceremonies of the World Ophthalmology Congress.
See www.icoph.org/apply for more information on membership in IFOS.
2. 7000 Registered for World Ophthalmology Congress/XXX International Congress of Ophthalmology
More than 7000 ophthalmologists and other eye care personnel from 100 countries have registered for the World Ophthalmology Congress/XXX International Congress of Ophthalmology, which will be February 19 – 24, 2006 in São Paulo, Brazil, the week before Carnival.
Advance registration is now closed, but it will still be possible to register on site. If you haven’t already made a hotel reservation, you should do so soon. See: www.ophthalmology2006.com.br/hotel2.php.
If you or your IFOS Representative needs a formal invitation to the Congress in order to have your travel approved, please let ICO Secretary General Bruce Spivey, MD, know at mailto:spivey@icoph.org.
For more on the Congress, see: www.ophthalmology2006.com.br.
3. IFOS Dues Notices Mailed
ICO Treasurer Balder Gloor, MD, has mailed requests for the payment of 2006 dues out to the treasurers and/or presidents of IFOS member societies and e-mailed dues notices to societies who have applied for membership in IFOS. If you have not received the dues notice, please contact Dr. Gloor at mailto:bgloor@access.unizh.ch.
Dues are CHF 3 (Swiss Francs) for each member of a society. So if you have 100 members, dues are CHF 300 per year (about $US 230). National societies from developing countries have the option of paying one percent of the dues they charge per member of their society.
We request payment as soon as possible, but no later than January 15, 2006. Dues must be paid for IFOS Representatives to receive free registration to the World Congress and participate in the IFOS General Assembly on February 21.
4. Benefits of Membership in IFOS
Why should national and international societies belong to IFOS?
Among other benefits, IFOS Membership offers the opportunity to:
- Speak for your society in the “parliament” of international ophthalmology, the IFOS General Assembly, with the right to vote and propose new initiatives
- Participate in defining the future of international ophthalmology and in improving and enhancing our profession
- Give ophthalmology a stronger voice to those who influence and set health priorities and policy related to eye care around the world, including the WHO
- Provide input into ICO programs, including the scientific program of the World Ophthalmology Congress and ICO International Clinical Guidelines
- Provide input into ICO policies and guidelines, such as curricula for training of ophthalmologists, medical students and allied eye care personnel and the Research Agenda for Global Blindness Prevention.
For more benefits of IFOS membership, see: www.icoph.org/pdf/ifosbenefits.pdf.
5. ICO Programs and Initiatives
Among the many ICO programs and initiatives that IFOS members support through their dues are:
For a full listing of ICO programs, initiatives and services, see: www.icoph.org/ic/programs.html. Or, you can download the list as a PDF file at: www.icoph.org/pdf/ifosicoprogramsl.pdf.
For the latest news of the ICO and international ophthalmology, visit the ICO Eye Site at www.icoph.org or read the latest issue of the ICO Leader Letter (www.icoph.org/news/letters.html), which we send by e-mail each month to ophthalmology leaders around the world.
We will send you more “IFOS Notes” next month. In the meantime, please let me know if you have comments or questions about IFOS membership, dues, benefits or ICO programs.
With best regards,
Fritz Naumann
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Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. G.O.H. Naumann
President of the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) (1998-2002-2006)
http://www.icoph.org
mailto:naumann@icoph.org
Professor Emeritus
Department of Ophthalmology
Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg
Schwabachanlage 6
D-91054 Erlangen
Germany
Telefon +49-91 31 / 85 3-44 77
Telefax +49-91 31 / 85 3-64 35
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International Council of Ophthalmology