APAO’s new leaders introduced at meeting

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — New ruling members of the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology were welcomed during the closing ceremony of the APAO meeting here, as attendees bade farewell to the outgoing leaders.

Prof. Arthur S.M. Lim, of Singapore, the outgoing secretary general of the APAO, welcomed the new secretary general, Prof. Dennis S.C. Lam, of Hong Kong, and new president, Yasuo Tano, of Osaka, Japan.

“I wish to announce that we have two wonderful leaders for the coming years, Prof. Tano, of Japan, and for APAO to succeed, it’s important to recognize younger, dynamic leaders for APAO, and for this we have Prof. Dennis Lam,” Prof. Lim said.

According to APAO tradition, following the ceremony the new secretary general officially begins to conduct the activities of APAO.

Dr. Tano congratulated the council for conducting “the most successful meeting in the APAO history.”

“I am now very happy to take over the presidency of the APAO, which has a good and long history,” Prof. Tano said. “This is a time where everything is really changing. Asian ophthalmology is growing so very rapidly numerically, economically and scientifically. ... I am more than happy to take this responsibility at this exciting time. I am very confident with new secretary general Dennis Lam and all of the wise council members. I will [work very hard] in the next 2 years to make this APAO stronger, and more fruitful with lots of prosperity.”

In his remarks, Prof. Lam said, “With regard to APAO, we have come a long way. We have developed from scratch to a position of strength. So the charge I have is to develop from strength to strength.

“Asia-Pacific is a large region, in which we have a lot of diversity and a lot of different needs. Let us be united, so that we can have unity in diversity. With the able leadership of Prof. Tano and also the advice and guidance of our very capable senior leaders, I am fully confident that APAO will develop from strength to strength, and in a short period of time, we hope that we will be able to get to new heights,” he continued.

Prof. Lam said medical work is a “commitment to serve humanity,” and that when it is done correctly, physicians have the ability to make a difference.

“We want to make the best use of the resources available to help the greatest number of patients at the best possible level. So let’s all work together to treat treatable blindness and to prevent the preventable blindness,” he said.

The APAO meeting, attended by 2,990 delegates from around the world, included 22 symposia, 67 instruction courses, and many free paper sessions and presentations. Beginning with next year’s APAO/ Asia-Pacific Association of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons joint meeting in Singapore, June 10-15, 2006, the meeting’s frequency will change from biennial to annual.

Two new programs were incorporated into the meeting this year: a symposium on holistic remedies and a medical ophthalmology program.