Presidential Address
Dear EUGMS Friends,
While two thirds of summer is still ahead us, I'll take this opportunity to wish a pleasant summertime and also inform you about important EUGMS proceedings during the first half of 2015.
Professional Congress Organizer (PCO) for EUGMS
An important decision for the future was the selection of PCO in March. Several bids were received and it was Aristea which won the tight and transparent competition. Preparations for the contract are underway and will be finalized by the Oslo congress. Aristea has an excellent track record also with EUGMS (very successful Venice congress in 2013), and they will be helping us already in the Lisbon congress in 2016. But the full cooperation will begin with the nice congress in 2017 in France. I wish to warmly welcome Aristea people to work with us for the benefit of EUGMS.
On this occasion, I would thank our dutiful treasurers, who have dedicated their time and expertise also to this important task.
Full Board commitment.
An important step was taken in Vienna – via a vibrating lunch-to-lunch workshop - to brainstorm EUGMS future. I hope this will continue in future years.
Congress
We are now eagerly waiting for the Oslo congress, which will have an excellent scientific program, thanks to our Norwegian colleagues Nils Holand and Annette Hylen Ranhoff, as well as our Academic Board chaired by Athanase Benetos. Urgent matter is now to stimulate more participants. In Oslo, we'll continue collaboration with JAMA, and hope to see some papers appearing in that high-profile general journal simultaneously with the Oslo congress.
Preparations for the EUGMS 2016 congress in Lisbon are proceeding well.
European Geriatric Medicine (EGM).
Our Journal has been guided by its Editor-in-Chief Jean-Pierre Michel firmly at the helm, and new impact factor (0.733) shows steady improvement. Many interesting papers appear in every issue including free online policy papers concerning EIP-AHA.Another interesting initiative is the reviewer recognition programme.
Please keep supporting our Journal and tell your colleagues about it.
EU/EC relations
Starting from its name, EUGMS has close ties with EU, and our people in Brussels, Jean-Pierre Baeyens and Christine Marking have been actively promoting our case there. A further step was taken on 2 June, when members of EB met in Brussels with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and representatives of important stakeholders related to geriatrics. Useful networking took place and I hope this cooperation will continue and flourish. A concrete step was a common statement against age discrimination and submitted to the Lancet at end of June.
Cooperation with EICA, EAMA, IAGG-European Region and its Clinical Section, Task and Finish Groups and SIGs
Fruitful cooperation with EICA has continued in San Servolo, for example, and EAMA students will again summarize congress proceedings in Oslo and report them also in EGM.
EUGMS welcomes the new President of the IAGG-European Region, Clemens Tesch-Römer and President of the Clinical Section, Mario Barbagallo, both elected in April In Dublin at the IAGG-ER congress. I wish we'll have close cooperation with the European Region during the next 4 years.
EUGMS has many active groups (http://www.eugms.org/research-cooperation/special-interest-groups.html) on various topics and a recent one is about hypertension and frailty where EUGMS will have cooperation with the European Society of Hypertension (ESH). For that purpose leaders of both Societies had a meeting in Milan in June.
Secretariat/Website
Our secretariat in Vienna staffed by Georg Ruppe and Andrea Hovenier has been most helpful and committed to solve many practical and administrative issues again during 2015. As president, I greatly appreciate their professionalism and devoting attitude. I am also very pleased with our website with Arturo Vilches-Moraga guiding its development and keeping it updated.
President-elect, EB vacancies
Stefania Maggi is due to start her presidency – and as the first female president in EUGMS history - 1stJanuary2016.
We now have the task of electing her successor. Also several seats in the EB will be open and our secretariat awaits applications by 31 July. I wish we'll have good candidates for the FB to select in September. I also wish we'll have good geographical and gender balance in the forthcoming EB.
Thanks to my team, EB
With three quarters of my presidency now passed (how time flies!) and lest I don’t forget at end of year, I would already extend my sincere thanks to my “Dream Team”. With all these colleagues, I don’t feel like a general – rather a soccer coach cooperating with many talents. And many goals have been made!
Finally, I wish you all a warm and sunny months of summer. See you in Oslo
Timo Strandberg
President, EUGMS
