EFORT issues official statement on COVID-19 concerning 2020 Congress in Vienna
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This official statement was issued by the EFORT Head Office in Rolle, Switzerland on 6 April 2020:
On 10 March 2020, the EFORT Board still felt optimistic that the 21st EFORT Annual Congress could take place as planned. Today, also, the Austrian Federal Chancellery shared its measures for a successive reopening of activities, whereas it announced that no events would be allowed to take place until at least the end of June (source).
The EFORT Board always considers the safety and health of all participants, sponsors, service providers and staff to be its absolute priority. At this stage, we would like to express our solidarity with all those affected by this pandemic and with all scientific organizations committed to delivering health care-related events aiming to promote health, research and the well-being of our patients.
Today the global COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to take the difficult decision to postpone the next face-to-face EFORT Annual Congress to next year and to create a new educational offering in the autumn.
Vienna and the Messe Vienna Exhibition & Congress Center have been exemplary in managing this crisis in partnership with us, and we are delighted and relieved to announce to the entire orthopaedic and trauma (O&T) community that EFORT will host its 22nd EFORT Annual Congress in Vienna from 30 June to 2 July 2021 at the same venue, the Messe Vienna Exhibition & Congress Center.
In its commitment to deliver a high-quality scientific program, as well as offer progressive tools for training and education, however, EFORT will also launch this year its first ever Virtual EFORT Congress (VEC). We are proud to announce that EFORT will organize the 21st EFORT Annual Congress as the Virtual EFORT Congress or VEC the week of 26 to 30 October 2020.
The exciting educational program will comprise free paper presentations, as well as sessions showcasing the latest advances in O&T, Europe-wide and globally.
In order to solidify partnerships in the new format between EFORT and industry, we are working on virtual solutions in the field of online exhibitions and other O&T health-promoting channels, offering sponsored sessions, online networking and social media marketing.
We know there will be a lot of questions arising from this decision and we are eager to answer them fully as our plans come to fruition. To this end, we will work toward having a detailed FAQ section online that will soon be available on the EFORT website, and we invite you to check back regularly.
With your support, we believe more than ever that our community will maintain its professional development and sustain solidarity through this and any other crisis.
Let’s stay strong together, safe and at home for the time being.
Your EFORT Board and team