(For previous Leader Letters, go to: www.icoph.org/news/letters.html.)
At the opening ceremonies, Richard Collin, MA, FRCS, DO, of Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, received the SOE's Charamist Medal for achievement in ophthalmic surgery. Mr. Collin treated the audience to a lively lecture on "Oculoplastic Surgery in Europe - Past, Present, and Future." The ICO's "Refocusing Ophthalmic Education" symposium closed out a Congress full of educational opportunities. The group discussed defining and adapting curricula, accreditation, certification and the differences in education among European countries and throughout the world. The presentations with audio will soon be available. Until then you can read about and comment on "Refocusing Ophthalmic Education" at www.icoph.org/refocus. We look forward to gathering in Europe again in June 2010 for the World Ophthalmology Congress in Berlin, and also at the next SOE Congress in June 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland. - Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President 2. New Helmerich Subspecialty Fellowship
The Helmerich International Fellowships are a new ICO program designed to provide advanced subspecialty training to ophthalmologists in developing countries to help them share new knowledge upon return to their home countries. The Fellowships are supported by a grant to the ICOFoundation from the Retina Research Foundation to honor the public service leadership of Mr. W.H. Helmerich III. Applicants should have completed ophthalmology resident-specialist training, be fluent in the language of the training location, and have a commitment to return to a position at a teaching institution or public service hospital in their home country following the fellowship, among other requirements. The full details and complete description of the Helmerich Fellowships, application requirements and instructions are available for download from: www.icoph.org/pdf/helmerichfellowships.pdf. (PDF - 736 KB) Application letters and related information should be sent to the ICO Helmerich International Fellowship Committee by e-mail at helmerich@icoph.org before September 1, 2009. - Bradley R. Straatsma, MD, JD, Member, ICO Board of Trustees 3. Gender and Eye Health - World Sight Day 2009 
World Sight Day (WSD) is an annual day of awareness coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) as part of VISION 2020, to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. WSD 2009 is October 8 and this year's theme is Gender and Eye Health.
Two-thirds of blind people worldwide are women and girls. In many countries, men's access to eye care is twice that of women. Studies have shown that effective strategies can and do successfully address this inequity. To help raise awareness of gender and eye health, VISION 2020 suggests two options for planning an event in your area: plant a tree or send in a photograph of two people from different genders - one blindfolded - to be included in an international photo montage. Visit the VISION 2020 WSD 2009 web page, www.v2020.org/wsd09, for tips on coordinating a local event, working with the news media, facts and promotional materials. - Hugh Taylor, AC, MD, ICO Treasurer 4. See You at WOC 2010 in Berlin |
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Jean-Jacques De Laey, MD
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We hope to make the WOC 2010 a truly international Congress by having participation by every country in the world. To help reach this goal, we offer free registration for the official Representative to the ICO from each member society.
Please send your representative's name, email address, country and society name to info@icoph.org. We ask that you name an official ICO representative as soon as possible, before December 1, 2009.
Member societies must also have paid their 2010 dues to receive free registration for their Representative and to have that Representative participate in the ICO General Assembly at the WOC 2010 on June 5. The ICO will send membership dues notices in November.
With your participation, we will have a successful, informative and a truly international World Ophthalmology Congress in 2010.
- Jean-Jacques DeLaey, ICO Secretary General
6. Groupe de Diffusion VISION 2020 pour l’Afrique Francophone
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Henry
Nkumbe, MD |
Les indicateurs VISION 2020 pour les pays francophones de l’ Afrique sont moins bons que ceux des pays anglophones.
On note également que pour les professionnels de la santé oculaire exerçant dans certains pays de l’ Afrique francophone, l’ appuis et l’ accès aux informations relatives à VISION 2020 sont moins bon.
C'est sur cette toile de fond qu’ au mois de mai 2007 fut créé le groupe de diffusion francophone VISION 2020 pour les ophtalmologistes, infirmiers spécialisés en ophtalmologie, optométristes et autres professionnels de santé oculaire en Afrique.
Nous comptons actuellement 64 membres qui exercent dans 20 pays (15 d’ Afrique) donc 4 qui sont également membre du groupe consultatif pour le leadership en ophtalmologie d’ ICO/Middle East African Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO). Je vous invite de nous visiter au site suivant : fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/ophtalmo/.
D’ ici 2010, nous souhaitons avoir au moins 100 membres, ce qui améliorera l’ échange des informations. Nous invitons donc tout les francophones de nous joindre et de participer aux discussions du forum. ( L’ inscription est gratuit).
Francophone VISION 2020 for Africa Discussion Group
VISION 2020 indicators for Francophone Africa lag behind Anglophone countries. There is also a gap in support and poor access to VISION 2020 relevant resources for eye care professionals in many Francophone African countries.
It was against this backdrop that in May 2007, the Francophone VISION 2020 for Africa Discussion Group for ophthalmologists, eye nurses, and other eye care professionals was formed. We now have 64 members from 20 countries (15 in Africa), including four ICO/Middle East African Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) Advisory Leadership Group members, among many others. I invite you to visit our website at: fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/ophtalmo/.
By 2010 we would like to increase membership to 100, resulting in more resources and information exchange. I invite all French speakers to join and contribute. (There is no fee for membership.)
- Henry Nkumbe, MD, FLM-SALFA Eye Hospital, Antsirabe, Madagascar
7. Next ICO Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC)
- ICO Board of Trustees: October 23, 2009, San Francisco
- ICO General Assembly: June 5, 2010, Berlin
- World Ophthalmology Congress®: June 5-9, 2010, Berlin (www.woc2010.de)
Other future ICO Meetings: www.icoph.org/lead/icomeet.html.
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.
9. 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 ophthalmologic leaders? Please let us know at leader@icoph.org.
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