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Planning ahead: APAO’s initiatives for 2013
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Following the 28th APAO Congress in Hyderabad, India, the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology is pleased to announce that its next annual congress will be held in conjunction with the World Ophthalmology Congress on April 2 to 6, 2014, in Tokyo. WOC 2014 also combines the meetings of the International Congress of Ophthalmology and Japanese Ophthalmological Society.
APJO Annual Review Day at WOC 2014
The APAO is pleased to share that the Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology will be organizing the APJO Annual Review Day on the platform provided by WOC 2014. The APJO Annual Review Day is scheduled for April 4, 2014, and will be a 1-day series of symposia containing presentations based on the annual reviews the APJO has published and is going to publish. An initiative led and engineered by Robert Ritch, MD, these annual articles are selective reviews of the literature highlighting the major developments in each subspecialty during the year prior to submission of the review. The committed authors are asked to not only filter the literature, but also assess the importance of the topics being discussed to present and summarize the most pertinent and important references published in the last 12 months. Speakers of the APJO Review Day at the WOC will be asked to focus their presentations on the most important discoveries in the year before the meeting, the key innovations and the most important take-home points that attendees should know in their area of expertise. Together with its collaborative partners, the APAO is making new efforts to modernize, update, change, innovate, create and devise new approaches to learning on every platform available to assist its member nations and affiliated societies to achieve international excellence.
To get a glimpse of the annual reviews and other articles published in the APJO, please go to www.apjo.org. Members of APAO’s member societies enjoy permanent free access to the APJO. Please sign up at http://www.apaophth.org/eJournal/index.php and contact the journal office for further information.
APAO’s Visiting Scholar Program
Another highlight of 2013 will be the launch of the APAO Visiting Scholar Program, which is part of the APAO online education program. Leading experts in the field will be invited to visit APAO’s member nations to give didactic lectures, perform live surgery, organize grand rounds, etc. While priority will be given to underserved areas among APAO’s member nations, the entire program will be recorded and edited before being uploaded on the APAO online education website. The APAO is now seeking noncommercial sponsorship to fund the program. With US$10,000, a 3- to 5-day program will be organized. In addition to socioeconomic factors, the selection of member nations will also depend on the needs in the nations and whether the scholar(s) available can meet these needs.
Images: Lam DSC
The APAO’s Grand Rounds Around the World will also be launched in April. A number of institutes and/or speakers have already indicated their interests to either co-host or participate in this educational initiative, including the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center and the State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology of the Sun Yat-sen University and the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The APAO is keen to provide more platforms on which ophthalmologists from various parts of the world can interact and have a fruitful exchange of expertise.
Upcoming congresses in the Asia-Pacific region
We are also pleased to learn that there are more ophthalmic meetings in the Asia-Pacific region. With such meetings, international delegates will bring to our region their expertise and bring home their fond memories of the hospitality they receive in the region. Such fruitful exchange of expertise will also lead to numerous collaborative opportunities, new ideas, inventions, innovations and, most importantly, new friendships. Here is a summary of some key regional and international meetings to be held in the Asia-Pacific region:
1. 7th Asian Neuro-Ophthalmology Society Congress
September 27-29, 2013
Inna Grand Bali Beach Hotel
Bali, Indonesia
2. Asia ARVO
October 28-31, 2013
Ashok International Convention & Exhibition Centre
New Delhi, India
3. 9th International Symposium of Ophthalmology
November 9-11, 2013
Crowne Plaza Guangzhou City Centre
Guangzhou, China
4. 8th Asia-Pacific Vitreo-retina Society Congress
December 6-8, 2013
Nagoya Congress Center
Nagoya, Japan
The APAO is always pleased to support and endorse ophthalmic meetings organized in the region. This year, the APAO is delighted to be invited to have been one of the co-organizers of the International Symposium of Ophthalmology (ISO), to be held in Guangzhou, China, on Nov. 9 to 11. The ISO will provide a platform for various international and regional ophthalmic societies to organize their branded symposiums or international meetings. Other co-organizers and/or supporting organizations include the International Society of Ophthalmic Pathology, the Asia-Pacific Vitreo-retina Society, the Asia-Pacific Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the Asia-Pacific Society of Eye Genetics, Asia-Pacific Intraocular Inflammation Study Group, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the New Zealand National Eye Centre, to name but a few. Potential co-organizers include the International Society of Refractive Surgery, the International Society of Ocular Oncology, the Club Jules Gonin, the European Glaucoma Society, etc. It is anticipated that the ISO will bring together more than 2,000 delegates from more than 50 countries, providing all the attendees with an excellent occasion to build new friendships and look for collaborative opportunities. – by Dennis S.C. Lam, MD, FRCOphth, Clement C.Y. Tham, MD, and Robert Ritch, MD