Editorial from Béatrice Cochener-Lamard MD

As President of the ESCRS, it was my great honour to welcome friends and colleagues from Europe and across the globe to the 36th Congress of the ESCRS in Vienna. This year’s Congress built on our shared commitment to continuously improving patient outcomes and access to excellent eye care around the world through education, research and mentoring young colleagues. Our free paper forum featured an innovative approach designed to break down the wall between speaker and audience. Multiple papers were presented at the same time in an open space with those in attendance listening in via wireless headphones in small groups. The result was a more intimate experience with free-flowing discussions. We offered more instructional courses and sponsored educational programmes, expanding topics from three to five. Hot topics included presbyopia, toric IOLs, ocular surface disease and combined cataract and minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS). To help colleagues learn in depth, we added a three-year running programme, coordinating symposia at the ESCRS Congress and Winter Meeting and with national society meetings throughout the year. Supporting materials are published online through ESCRS On Demand and EuroTimes, and in printed newsletters and articles. For young ophthalmologists, ESCRS is offering more fellowships to attend meetings as well as media tools including free online content through ESCRS iLearn, and books, videos, landmark articles and materials for the FEBO-CR examination through the ESCRS Education Portal. At the Congress, we opened the gala President’s Dinner to young ophthalmologists to build social connections between society leaders and young, motivated colleagues. It was a very nice bridge between generations. The ESCRS annual member survey continued to yield important information on the level of practice in emerging areas such as presbyopia correction and MIGS. By expanding and tailoring the survey we hope to help build knowledge and adoption of best practices. Finally, ESCRS strengthened its commitment to improving access to eye care around the world with a plan to partner with and involve more young ophthalmologists in international programmes. This issue includes expanded coverage of this year’s Congress. 
We hope you enjoy reading about it and plan to attend future events. Béatrice Cochener-Lamard MD, PHD, is Professor and Chairman of the ophthalmology department at the University Hospital of Brest, France

Tags: catar, cataract and refractive