APAO: Diversity of initiatives, union of strength

Issue: April 2012

Since APAO Beijing 2010, the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology has set up 18 standing committees to cater to the needs of various ophthalmologists.

To address the rising prominence of female ophthalmologists in the Asia-Pacific region, the APAO Women Ophthalmologists Standing Committee was established with the aims to improve and enhance the professional environment for women in ophthalmology. We are pleased that not only women ophthalmologists in the Asia-Pacific region are keen to contribute, but both Ruth Williams, MD, president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and Lynn Gordon, MD, president of Women in Ophthalmology, have agreed to join the standing committee in the capacity of honorary advisors. While both Drs. Williams and Gordon had shared their wonderful views and insights at APAO Busan 2012, we are pleased to have had the chance to present to you a quality scientific program that covers a wide variety of subspecialties.

Set up with the aims to constantly review the current status of various ophthalmological subspecialties, the APAO Subspecialty Standing Committee is dedicated to enhancing and improving the scientific understanding of eye diseases in each subspecialty in hopes that new clinical observations and therapeutic modalities will be developed to serve patients in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

APAO Council Meeting 2010: Not only was the golden jubilee of the APAO celebrated, council members also agreed to set up various standing committees to drive the APAO forward.

Meanwhile, there are the Advisory Standing Committee, the Advocacy Standing Committee, the Award Standing Committee, the Congress Standing Committee, the Constitution and Bylaws Standing Committee, the Fellowship Standing Committee, the Journal Standing Committee, the Leadership Development Standing Committee, the Membership Standing Committee, the Online Education Standing Committee, the Ophthalmic Education Standing Committee, the Practice Guidelines Standing Committee, the Prevention of Blindness Standing Committee, the Public Education Standing Committee, the Research Standing Committee and the Young Ophthalmologists Standing Committee, each of which is set up with the aim to facilitate the development of the APAO so that it can better serve both ophthalmologists and patients in the Asia-Pacific region beyond.

Goals of committees

With the launch of its official journal, the Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology, members on the Journal Standing Committee will continue to contribute to its development by forging closer collaboration among each editorial board member so that the APJO will become one of the top eye journals in due course. The Online Education Standing Committee is also dedicated to providing more learning opportunities for ophthalmologists worldwide.

Both the Advocacy and the Ophthalmic Education Standing Committees are committed to the elimination of preventable blindness. The Advocacy Standing Committee will collect data about the availability of ophthalmic services and human resources to geographically map the underserved areas in the Asia-Pacific region. The Ophthalmic Education Standing Committee will then work closely with the Fellowship Standing Committee and the Online Education Committee to provide ophthalmologists with training opportunities and quality continuing medical education material.

In the meantime, the Public Education Standing Committee will continue to organize more eye care campaigns to raise public awareness about the importance of eye health. Following the success of the first Asia-Pacific Eye Care Week held in January 2012, similar eye care activities will be held later in the year to coincide with the World Sight Day set aside by the World Health Organization. It is hoped that with more interventions by non-government international ophthalmological organizations, the global Vision 2020 initiative will surely be a dream come true.

While the Advisory and the Constitution and Bylaws Standing Committees are committed to policy-making, the Award Standing Committee is devoted to recognizing the achievements of ophthalmologists and/or ophthalmological organizations that have made substantial contributions to the development of ophthalmology and prevention of blindness in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. The results of the various APAO-named awards for 2012 were announced and presented at the opening ceremony of the APAO Busan Congress, in which the audience was entertained with not only impressive traditional Korean performances, but also empowering speeches from leading eye experts. Both the APAO distinguished service awards 2012 and the APAO outstanding service in prevention of blindness awards 2012 were presented at the gala dinner. In view of the close proximity of APAO Busan and the subsequent APAO India in January 2013, a call for award nominations will be made shortly after APAO Busan. You are most welcome to communicate with your APAO regional secretary should you have in mind a suitable candidate to nominate.

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APAO Congress

Last but not least, as an important platform for both learning and networking, the APAO Congress is constantly evaluated by the APAO Congress Standing Committee that is made up of former, present and future APAO Congress presidents. With a fruitful exchange of expertise and sharing of experience, it is the sincere hope of the APAO that we can present to you a truly memorable annual congress. We look forward to meeting you in Hyderabad, India. – by Dennis S.C. Lam, MD, FRCOphth, Secretary General of the APAO, and Frank J. Martin, AM, FRACS, FRANZCO, President of the APAO