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ICO Leader Letter

April 2011, Volume 8, Number 4

1. ICO Board of Trustees Meeting

Prior to the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) Congress in Sydney, the ICO Board of Trustees met in Australia on March 17-18, 2011, to discuss Board-related issues. In addition, the Board and the ICO Advisory Committee continued the strategic planning process launched during the 2010 World Ophthalmology Congress in Berlin. Participants enthusiastically supported the future of the ICO as presented in a draft Strategic Plan. A more detailed report of the ICO Strategic Plan will be provided in the future.

– Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President

2. APAO Congress in Sydney

The 26th Congress of the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO), held in Sydney, Australia March 20-24, was a rousing success with more than 4,500 delegates attending from 67 countries. Co-sponsored by the ICO and hosted by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO), the Congress was the largest eye health conferences ever held in Australia. Some 700 speakers and more than 2,000 presentations and 105 exhibitions provided a comprehensive and robust scientific program. Participants were embraced by the warm Australian hospitality and enjoyed many of the beautiful sights and experiences that Sydney has to offer.

– Frank Martin, MBBS, APAO President

3. ICO Naumann Award

The G.O.H. Naumann Award is given annually to an ophthalmologist who has made a significant contribution to global eye care in his or her community in an effort to promote educational programs and establish service models for other societies.

This year’s award was presented to Dr. Frank Billson, a pioneer in saving the eyesight of premature babies. As Foundation Professor of Ophthalmology since 1978, Professor Billson has been Director of the Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney since 1985. He is the director of the Lions NSW Eye Bank and a staff member of the Sydney Eye Hospital.

Dr. Billson’s enthusiasm and leadership can be seen in his international contributions, including his training work in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, China, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and the Solomon Islands. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Chittagong Eye Infirmary and Training Complex in Bangladesh with Foresight Australia. Dr. Billson believes that through the transfer of skills and knowledge, the developed world has a duty to help the rest of the world overcome diseases that have largely been eradicated in the West. He is an inspirational role model to his students and colleagues and a great comfort to his patients. Dr. Billson’s work has saved the sight and enhanced the quality of life of thousands.

Dr. Billson thanked the ICO for the award and made a presentation on Leadership in Global Eye Care during the ICO Board of Trustees Meeting on March 17 in Australia. To learn more, please download his presentation PDF (1.8 KB).

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Billson for his outstanding contribution to ophthalmology and the prevention of visual loss.

– Akef El-Maghraby, MD, ICO Vice President

4. APAO Award Recipients

Please join me in congratulating our colleagues who received the following Medals and Awards at the Opening Ceremony of the 26th Congress of the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) in Sydney, Australia:

Jose Rizal Medal to outstanding ophthalmologists in the Asia-Pacific Region:

Frank Martin, MD, Australia

Jose Rizal International Medal to outstanding ophthalmologists from outside the Asia-Pacific Region who have made contributions within the region:

Robert Ritch, MD, USA

De Ocampo Lecture for outstanding academic achievement:

Charles McGhee, FRCOphth, PhD, New Zealand

ICO Golden Apple Award for the best clinical teacher in ophthalmology in the Asia-Pacific Region:

Dennis Lam, MD, Hong Kong

Congratulations to all of the awardees.

– Hugh Taylor, AC, MD, ICO Treasurer

5. SOE Congress in Geneva

The European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE) and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) have the pleasure of inviting you to their next Joint Congress, which will take place in Geneva, Switzerland on June 4–7, 2011.

Located in the center of Europe, Geneva is easy to reach from anywhere in the world. Although a cosmopolitan city, Geneva has retained all the charm of a small town–a truly great destination for our next Joint Congress.

We have prepared a stimulating and exciting scientific program. The Key Note Lecturers are Wolfgang Drexler, Anders Heijl, Shigeru Kinoshita and Jonathan Trobe. As always, we have collaborated closely with many subspecialty societies from both sides of the Atlantic, ensuring state-of-the-art contributions from the best experts from around the globe.

Except for the European University Professors of Ophthalmology (EUPO) Course there will be no charge for courses during the Joint Congress. We hope that you will join us at the next Joint SOE/AAO Congress, which will be a dynamic meeting with exciting scientific and social interaction with ophthalmologists from all over the world.

– Gabriel van Rij, MD, PhD, SOE President
– David W. Parke II, MD, Executive Vice President/ AAO Chief Executive Officer

6. First Conference for Ophthalmic Educators

The first Conference for Ophthalmic Educators, which was held March 18-19 just prior to the APAO Congress in Sydney, was an outstanding success, with seats having to be added in order to accommodate the more than 100 participants in attendance.

Co-sponsored by the ICO, Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) and Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO), the Conference offered the opportunity for educators from regions throughout the world to get together and learn.

Special interest groups of teachers focused on residents, subspecialists, medical students, allied health professionals, and those interested in continuing medical education and continuing professional development had the opportunity to meet with with colleagues from the Asia Pacific region and beyond. Attendees were energized and passionate. Polled by Dr. Karl Golnik, chair of the coordinating committee on regional conferences, 97% of the participants said they said they felt more such Conferences should be organized in the future.

The Conferences for Educators help ophthalmic educators learn more about modern educational theory, methods and tools and develop relationships that will enable them to enhance educational programs and ultimately raise the level of eye care in their region.

The plenary sessions from the first Conference for Educators will be available on the ICO Web site in late May.

The next Conference for Educators will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 5, 2011, in conjunction with the 19th Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology, July 7 to 9 (www.paao2011buenosaires.org.ar). The ICO, Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology and Argentine Council of Ophthalmology are co-sponsors of the Conference.

– Mark O.M. Tso, MD, DSc, ICO Director for Education

7. SEHP Launch in Pakistan

The School Eye Health Program (SEHP) was celebrated with a stakeholder ceremony on March 27 at the Comprehensive Health and Education Forum (CHEF) International headquarters in Peshawar, Pakistan. The program will screen 1 million children in primary school for refractive errors and general eye health in Pakistani and Nigerian schools.

The ceremony acknowledged the joint efforts of organizations, community leaders, educators, and health workers to carry out the SEHP activities throughout Pakistan. Attendees included representatives from Light for the World (LFTW) Austria and the Ophthalmological Society of Pakistan. Dr. Bruce Spivey, President of the International Ophthalmology Council (ICO), spoke via video, discussing the far-reaching benefits of taking a local approach to correcting refractive error and improving eye health care. He also thanked the supporters of SEHP, especially noting the work of Dr. Babar Qureshi.

SEHP is a collaboration of the ICO Task Force on Uncorrected Refractive Error (URE), ICOFoundation, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD (LFTW) Austria, and Foundation Dark and Light Netherlands.

Since 2010, the SEHP has offered eye care services, teacher training, URE testing, health promotion, and health screening. It also performs operational research with the cooperation of Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology (LAICO). SEHP aims to improve quality of life in children by eliminating blindness and visual disabilities due to uncorrected refractive errors, which is the main cause of visual impairment worldwide.

– Babar Qureshi, MD, Chair, ICO Task Force for Uncorrected Refractive Error

8. Next ICO Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congress

ICO Board of Trustees Meeting: February 15, 2012, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

ICO General Assembly: February 16, 2012, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

World Ophthalmology Congress®: February 16–20, 2012, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (www.woc2012.org)

Upcoming ICO Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congresses

Conference for Ophthalmic Educators, Busan, Korea, April 12:
New Techniques to Enhance Teaching and Learning

• Register online to attend: icoph.org/rsvp/Busan

World Ophthalmology Congress Meetings

• WOC2014: Tokyo, Japan, April 2-6, 2014, www.woc2014.org
• WOC2016: Guadalajara, Mexico, February 5–9, 2016
• WOC2018: Barcelona, Spain (provisional selection, dates to be announced)

More News

For more news of the ICO and international ophthalmology and resources for ophthalmologic leaders, see the ICO Web 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 ophthalmologic leaders? Please let us know at leader@icoph.org.

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