What are our weaknesses?

What are the most important weaknesses of international ophthalmology and the ICO/IFOS (e.g., lack of organizational visibility and financial support)?

What are our strengths?

What are the greatest strengths of international ophthalmology and the ICO/IFOS (e.g., broad scope of practice, experience with education)?

What trends will have the most impact?

What trends (e.g., aging population, new technology) will have the greatest impact on ophthalmology and eye care in the next five to 10 years?

Why we set up the Forum and how to participate

Welcome to the online forum on the future of international ophthalmology and the International Council of Ophthalmology/International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (ICO/IFOS).

We are going to define a new strategic plan for the ICO/IFOS this year and have created this forum to solicit ideas from the Council and ICO Committees, IFOS members and other ophthalmologic leaders around the world.

To participate, just read the questions above and click on the "Comments" link below any question to respond. The first questions are at the bottom of the page, just above this one, and most recent ones toward the top.

We would like to know who is participating, so please select "Other" below your comment and type your name. But you can select "Anonymous" if you think that is important. We reserve the right to remove any comments we feel are inappropriate or off topic.

If you prefer, you can answer the questions or send me your ideas by e-mail to mailto:ifos@icoph.org. But I hope you will post your comments here.

We will be adding new questions each month and posting summaries of the responses and draft planning documents here.

Participating in a forum like this may be new to you, as it is to me. But please give it a try. I think you will find it easy to use and a great way to exchange ideas about the future of ICO/IFOS.

If you are interested, you can find out more about the ICO/IFOS strategic planning process at http://www.icoph.org/plan/process.html.

I would certainly be interested in your feedback on the Forum or process, which you can offer by clicking on "Comments" below. Also, please let me know if you encounter any problems using this Forum.

Thank you for contributing your ideas, which will be valuable as we consider options for the future.

Bruce Spivey
ICO President