ICO Leader Letter:
Major Events for International Ophthalmology This Fall

September 2004, Volume 1, Number 6

In This Issue:

1. On the Fall Schedule for International Ophthalmology (Fritz Naumann, MD)

2. IAPB Assembly Will Focus on Vision 2020 (Fritz Naumann, MD)

3. IFOS To Consider Expanding Membership (Bruce Spivey, MD)

4. Should the ICO Change its Name? (Fritz Naumann, MD)

5. Online Atlas of Ophthalmology Seeks More Good Cases (Mark Tso, MD)

6. ICOFoundation Board Elects Neil Levine (Bradley R. Straatsma, MD, JD)

7. Coming in the October ICO Leader Letter

8. More News

9. Request for Other News and Resources

10. Forward the ICO Leader Letter to your Colleagues

11. Comments, Change of Address, Privacy Policy, Subscribe and Unsubscribe

1. On the Fall Schedule for International Ophthalmology

Dear Colleagues:

Fritz Naumann, MD

The Seventh General Assembly of the International Society for the Prevention of Blindness will be in Dubai from September 20 to 24, and the Ophthalmological Society of Taiwan will celebrate its 45th anniversary the first week in October.

World Sight Day is October 14 this year, and we encourage all ophthalmologic societies to participate (see www.v2020.org/world_sight_day).

Then the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS) will meet later in October in New Orleans, just prior to the joint meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and European Ophthalmological Society. There are more details below.

 See you there!

– Fritz Naumann, MD, ICO President

2. IAPB Assembly Will Focus on Vision 2020: The Right To Sight

Vision 2020 working groups will meet, and the Assembly Programme will cover progress and challenges for the project, which is dedicated to eliminating the main causes of avoidable blindness by the year 2020. The ICO Symposium on September 20 will focus on the role of ophthalmology in Vision 2020.

There will also be courses on disease control, planning eye care programs and effective eye care delivery as well as information, education and communication.

For more details, see: www.iapb.org/7assembly/introduction.htm.

- Fritz Naumann, MD, ICO President and Advocacy Coordinator

3. IFOS To Consider Expanding Membership

Bruce Spivey, MD

The ICO, the executive body for IFOS, has recommended the expansion in recognition of the growing role that subspecialty societies play internationally. IFOS membership is currently limited to one society in each country..

IFOS will also consider dues and reports on all major IFOS/ICO programs.

IFOS will meet from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. October 23 in Great Room A of the W Hotel at 333 Poydras Street in New Orleans. A reception will follow.

For more on the IFOS meeting, see: www.icoph.org/soc/#ifosmeet.

- Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO Secretary-General

4. Should the ICO Change Its Name?

When it meets in New Orleans on October 22, the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) will discuss whether another name might better describe what it does.

Recognizing that the ICO's scope has become global, and to distinguish it from the many other "International..." societies, a variety of possible names have been suggested. These include:

• World Ophthalmology Council
• World Council of Ophthalmology
• World Society of Ophthalmology
• World Federation of Ophthalmology and Vision 

Similar changes have been suggested for the International Congress of Ophthalmology, and the Council will discuss those as well.

Please let me know (at leader@icoph.org) if you think a name change would be a good idea and, if so, what an appropriate name would be.

If we were to recommend a change in the name of the ICO or Congress, it would require approval of IFOS and would not become official until the next IFOS meeting in 2006.

- Fritz Naumann, MD, ICO President

5. Online Atlas of Ophthalmology Seeks More Good Cases

Mark Tso, MD

Edited by Prof. Georg Michelson from the University Augenklinik in Erlangen, Germany and Robert Machemer from Duke University in Durham, NC, USA, the Atlas offers nearly 3000 high quality images, including pathological specimens and the results of fluorescein angiography, ultrasound and other diagnostic techniques.

The Atlas has had nearly 100 contributors but is still looking for more good cases, particularly rare cases and those that are only seen in one part of the world. For information on how to submit cases, see www.atlasophthalmology.com or contact Dr. Machemer at MachemerRobert@nc.rr.com.

- Mark Tso, MD, ICO Vice President and Education Coordinator

6. ICOFoundation Board Elects Neil Levine

Bradley R. Straatsma, MD, JD

The ICOFoundation was formed in 2002 to advocate preservation and restoration of vision through education, quality eye care and research. The ICOFoundation seeks financial support for initiatives to prevent, alleviate and eliminate the loss of human vision.

For more information, see the ICOFoundation Web site at www.icofoundation.org.

- Bradley R. Straatsma, MD, JD, ICO Council Member and ICOFoundation President

7. Coming in the October ICO Leader Letter:

The ICO Symposium on Managing Cataract Blindness and social events for international leaders at the American Academy of Ophthalmology

8. More News

For more news of the ICO and international ophthalmology and resources for ophthalmologic leaders, see the ICO's Eye Site at www.icoph.org.

Request for Other News and Resources

Do you have other news of international ophthalmology or know resources (particularly on the Web) that would be valuable to society leaders? Please let us know at leader@icoph.org.

10. Forward the ICO Leader Letter to your Colleagues:

If there are other ophthalmologic leaders you think might be interested in seeing this ICO Leader Letter, please forward this issue to them by clicking on the following link or copying it and pasting it into a Web browser:

11. Comments, Change of Address, Privacy Policy, Subscribe and Unsubscribe

Send comments and suggestions for the Leader Letter to leader@icoph.org.

You are subscribed as recipient@youraddress.com. Change your address by sending e-mail to: leader@icoph.org.

We do not share e-mail addresses with anyone else. Check our privacy policy at: www.icoph.org/ic/privacy.html.

To subscribe to the Leader Letter, visit www.icoph.org/news/subscribe.html.

To unsubscribe, reply to this e-mail and type “unsubscribe” (without the quotes) as the subject, click on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this page, or send an e-mail to leader@icoph.org.

You can read this ICO Leader Letter online at www.icoph.org/news/leader0409.html. For previous issues, go to www.icoph.org/news/letters.html#archive.

Back to the top

Copyright © 2004 International Council of Ophthalmology. All rights reserved.
945 Green Street, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA