A Proud Tradition

With only a short time to go before the 16th ESCRS Winter Meeting, all eyes will be on Prague. Every year the ESCRS winter meeting gets bigger and bigger and as your hosts in the Czech Republic we look forward to sharing our experiences with you.

The Czech Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery was founded in 1998 and today the society has 120 members. The Czech Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery was developed from the Implantology section of the national Czech Ophthalmological Society, which has a long tradition. The national society has 1060 members and in addition, the Slovak Ophthalmological Society has 580 members.

We are proud of our ophthalmological tradition. There are three medical faculties and four University Hospitals in Prague and in each hospital there is a highly regarded ophthalmological clinic. In Czech Republic there are seven medical faculties in total and besides the public hospitals, there are several very qualified private ophthalmological clinics.

Ophthalmology in the Czech and Slovak Republics has changed since 1993, when these two states were established as independent countries and the major clinics in both countries closely follow the latest trends in ophthalmology worldwide.

Reduced registration

We have seen many changes since 1993 in all areas of our society and it is a great pleasure to have the prestigious ESCRS Winter Meeting in Prague. The economic situation facing ophthalmologists in the eastern part of Europe is very challenging and because of this our ophthalmologists have not had as many opportunities to attend international meetings as some of their other colleagues.

That is why we welcome the decision to hold this meeting in Prague as the location of the meeting will cut down the travel and accommodation expenses for delegates not only from the Czech Republic but also for ophthalmologists from other parts of eastern Europe. We are also delighted that the ESCRS has agreed to a reduced registration fee for the members of Czech and Slovak societies. These factors make the meeting more accessible and we are looking forward to a big attendance from national delegates.

We will also welcome all our visitors from other parts of Europe and outside Europe as the ESCRS Winter Meeting is now very well established as an important educational event in the ophthalmological calendar. I also look forward to meeting our young ophthalmologists who should find this meeting to be of great benefit.

Looking forward

In previous years Prague has hosted a number of important ophthalmological events including the European VitreoRetinal Society (EVRS) annual meeting in September 2008 and the World Congress on Controversies in Ophthalmology in March 2010. Now we are looking forward to the great honour of hosting the 16th ESCRS Winter Meeting from 3-5 February, 2012.

It is an excellent opportunity to share experiences, either through videos or short papers or by simply participating in the open forum, to search for new approaches and techniques, to express doubts and contribute ideas and to discuss thoughts with international experts. As Prague is a city in the heart of Europe it is also a great occasion for meeting ophthalmologists from western and eastern Europe.

We look forward very much to the 16th ESCRS Winter Meeting and hope you will join us to make this meeting a great success.

Pavel Studeny is a member of the ESCRS Board.