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DGOU and TOTBID: Building bridges in medicine
The Berlin Declaration 2015 consolidates German-Turkish cooperation in orthopaedics and trauma surgery
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On 21 October 2015, representatives of the German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma and the Turkish Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology signed their Berlin Declaration 2015. This cooperation agreement is intended to step up the exchange of ideas between the two professional associations and place their partnership on a permanent footing.
The agreement was signed at the Turkish Embassy in Berlin on the occasion of the German Congress for Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery (DKOU).
His Excellency Hüseyin Avni Karsloğlu, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in Berlin since 2012, said it was a great honor and a joy for him to welcome German and Turkish guests to the embassy. He greeted about 150 representatives of national and international professional associations who had come to Berlin for DKOU 2015 and assembled at the Turkish Embassy in Berlin’s Tiergarten district. It had become something of a tradition, said His Excellency Karsloğlu, to host visitors from the health care sector there. He named three areas of activity for which he threw open the embassy’s doors: health care, youth education and the economy, going on to say the present meeting was the first cooperative health symposium between Germany and Turkey.
The foundations for the Berlin Declaration 2015 were laid in 2013 when Congress presidents Professor Rüdiger Krauspe and Professor Michael Nerlich (German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma), and Doctor Hans-Jürgen Hesselschwerdt (Professional Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons or Berufsverband für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie - BVOU) declared Turkey would be the partner country at DKOU 2015 and invited Turkish Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (TOTBID) representatives to help design the program for the international sessions. However, cooperation is not to be merely confined to DKOU 2015.
The German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma (DGOU) and BVOU hope the agreement will play a part in strengthening shared international efforts to tackle health problems. The importance of cooperation is highlighted by the current refugee situation, Professor Krauspe said in his address. He emphasised that care for people in need has always been the driving force for physicians and nurses.
Picture credit: STARFACE
Today, he said, the need for such help is even increasing.
“We might also succeed in building up cooperation on shelter and rescue programs,” said Professor Krauspe. Tolerance and greater knowledge of cultural diversity would contribute to a shaping a more peaceful world, he continued, pointing out that in the light of current events this is becoming more important every day, and that education and health care are a crucial basis for all other social developments.
“Let us, too, build bridges between our orthopaedics and trauma surgery societies and between our cultures. Through tolerance, fairness and openness, we can benefit together from scientific and clinical successes in Germany and Turkey, thereby improving outcomes for our patients,” said Professor Krauspe. He went on to refer to the architecture of the embassy building, which symbolizes a bridge linking the European and Asian parts of Turkey across the Bosphorus.
Professor Sait Ada, president of TOTBID, said he was highly honored to enter into this cooperation with German colleagues. He also referred to the current political situation by quoting the words of Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey: “Peace at home, peace in the world.” In expressing his hope that what the professional associations achieved on a small scale might also be achieved on a larger scale, he no doubt struck a chord with many guests.
Professor Krauspe, Professor Nerlich and Professor Ada then joined Doctor Johannes Flechtenmacher, President of the Professional Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, in signing the Berlin Declaration. Among other things, the Berlin Declaration 2015 states that solid basic and advanced training of orthopaedists and trauma surgeons is essential for dealing successfully with the rising incidence of orthopaedic disorders and traumatic injuries worldwide. The agreement helps to strengthen the transfer of knowledge and technology between Turkish and German orthopaedists and trauma surgeons.
Before the evening was rounded off with Turkish specialities and conversation, Professor Nerlich expressed his desire that the present Berlin Declaration 2015 might be followed by many others.
- More information
- German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma (DGOU)
- Turkish Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (TOTBID)