(For previous ICO Leader Letters, go to: www.icoph.org/news/letters.html.)
As described below, among the items on the agenda for our annual Council meeting are what the organization should be called, approval of a strategic plan and a decision on the site of the 2014 World Ophthalmology Congress. ICO committees will also meet to consider how the we can serve more effectively as an advocate for ophthalmology and public and what we should do to enhance education and eye care in countries with few or no ophthalmologists. For the first time, we will be supported in our decision making and the implementation of those decisions by an ICO Executive Director. See next ICO Leader Letter for a report on what we decide in Cape Town. - Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President 2. Council To Consider Strategic Plan and Name Change The Council will be asked to approve a Strategic Plan that defines critical future directions, including:
One recommendation that came out of the ICO strategic planning process in 2006 was that the organization should have a single name, not be called both the ICO and International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS). The ICO is the executive body of IFOS, but there has been persistent confusion as a result of the dual names. The Council will decide on proposed changes in the Statutes and Regulations that would make the name of the organization either the International Council of Ophthalmology or World Ophthalmology Council. In either case, we will recommend that current IFOS members will become members of the "Council," and the current Council become the Board of Trustees. For more details, see: www.icoph.org/news/ifos0612.html. - Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President 3. 2014 World Ophthalmology Congress and Minimal Ophthalmic Presence
We will also consider a variety of other issues, including:
The Assessments, Advocacy, World Congress and other ICO Committees will also meet, with the Advisory Committee focusing on proposals for action from the Committee on Countries with Minimal Ophthalmic Presence, chaired by Jacob Pe'er, MD. - Jean-Jacques De Laey, MD, ICO Secretary General 4. APAO Congress in Lahore, Pakistan
Highlights of the recent 22nd Congress of the Asia Pacific Academy on Ophthalmology (APAO) in Lahore, Pakistan include:
We appreciate the warm hospitality and professionalism of our hosts from the Ophthalmological Society of Pakistan, which celebrated its Golden Jubilee. For more details on the APAO Congress, see www.icoph.org/news/ifos0702.html. - Yasuo Tano, MD, ICO Treasurer 5. ICO Names Bill Felch Executive Director
Historically, the greatest strength of the ICO has been the commitment of dedicated volunteer leaders. A critical weakness has been the lack of organizational infrastructure and ongoing support for the volunteers. I am happy to report that we have addressed that need by hiring Bill Felch, who has served as a consultant to the ICO for many years, as its first full-time employee and Executive Director. Bill worked for the American Academy Ophthalmology for 16 years, first as director of communications and later as vice president for planning and research but has been an independent consultant since 1994, specializing in organizational development, communications and use of the Internet. In addition to facilitating the first ICO strategic planning process in 1993 and definition of our new plan last year, Bill designed and maintains the ICO Web site and edits and produces this Leader Letter and IFOS Notes. He will continue to work out of his home in California but it is already clear that Bill will multiply what we are able to do as volunteers. - Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President 6. Ophthalmologic Society Web Sites Ophthalmologic society leaders who will be at the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology meeting next week in Lahore, Pakistan are invited to participate in an ICO World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development (WORLD) on February 25. Two of the "supranational" ophthalmologic societies have new Web sites:
You may also want to visit the:
On the ICO Web site, you can find links to the Web sites of:
Please let us know if your Web site is missing or its address has changed. - Jean-Jacques De Laey, MD, ICO Secretary General 7. Next ICO and IFOS Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC)
Other future ICO/IFOS Meetings: www.icoph.org/lead/icomeet.html. 8. Coming in the April ICO Leader Letter: Report on Council Meeting in Cape Town 9. 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. 10. 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. 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 [contact-Email]. 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/leader0703.html. For previous issues, go to www.icoph.org/news/letters.html. Copyright © 2007 International Council of Ophthalmology. All rights reserved. |
