Onwards to Portugal

FILOMENA RIBEIRO, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE ESCRS

We will be gathering this month in Vilamoura, Portugal, for what may be the largest Winter Meeting the ESCRS has ever held. It is a welcome return to near normal after we were obliged to convert our previously scheduled get-together in Vilamoura to a virtual format during the depths of the COVID pandemic. We are happy to be able to continue the tradition of holding the meeting in a special setting, allowing a unique combination of a high-level programme and the warm welcome of my country, Portugal.

The 2023 Winter Meeting will be in collaboration with the Sociedade Portuguesa Oftalmologia (SPO) and the Portuguese Groups of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Ocular Surface, Cornea and Contactology (CIRP). This cooperative effort will translate into joint free paper sessions, a Live Surgery Session, and a separate track in Portuguese for our local colleagues. There will also be a joint Portuguese-Brazilian symposium.

The conference format for Vilamoura will be fully faceto-face, with no virtual access. The recent annual congress in Milan has shown the growing appetite for meeting, learning, and socializing at conferences.

The sizable ESCRS programme begins with a full Cornea Day. Attendees can choose from a selection of symposia, free paper sessions, instructional courses, and posters throughout the three-day meeting. A full selection of wet labs is also on the menu. We are happy to welcome members of the European Society of Ophthalmic Nurses and Technicians (ESONT), who will have a special session.

Young ophthalmologists have many options during the conference. During COVID, many trainees had their studies

Editorial Board

disrupted by the isolation required for public health, missing opportunities for live or even simulated surgical training. This, in turn, made applying for fellowships and future employment even more difficult than it had been, adding to a uniquely stressful time to be entering the ophthalmology profession. Our lead story by Dr Clare Quigley looks at the challenges facing ophthalmology training in Europe.

Once young ophthalmologists qualify to practice, they may find themselves unprepared for the commercial realities of an ophthalmology clinic. A column in this issue addresses this challenge, discussing ways young ophthalmologists can learn business and management skills.

With the arrival of March, the Ukraine war sadly enters its second year. Writer Dermot McGrath looks at the toll of that war and reminds us of the many challenges faced by our Ukrainian colleagues.

The ESCRS continues to support our colleagues in the war zone. We are very grateful for the continuing support we are receiving from the industry and our members. If you are an ESCRS member and wish to contribute, simply log in at https://donate.escrs.org

I hope to see you in Vilamoura! EuroTimes will offer comprehensive coverage of the proceedings in future issues.

International Editorial Board

Noel Alpins (Australia)

Bekir Aslan (Turkey)

Roberto Bellucci (Italy)

Hiroko Bissen-Miyajima (Japan)

John Chang (China)

Béatrice Cochener-Lamard (France)

Oliver Findl (Austria)

Nino Hirnschall (Austria)

Soosan Jacob (India)

Vikentia Katsanevaki (Greece)

Daniel Kook (Germany)

Boris Malyugin (Russia)

Marguerite McDonald (US)

Cyres Mehta (India)

Sorcha Ní Dhubhghaill (Ireland)

Rudy Nuijts (The Netherlands)

Leigh Spielberg (The Netherlands)

Sathish Srinivasan (UK)

Robert Stegmann (South Africa)

Ulf Stenevi (Sweden)

Marie-José Tassignon (Belgium)

Manfred Tetz (Germany)

Carlo Enrico Traverso (Italy)