As we start the New Year at the European Respiratory Society, it marks an opportunity to reflect on our moments of success in 2016 and look forward to the developments that are to come over the next 12 months.
2016 was a memorable year with many highlights for ERS. We welcomed over 22,600 people to our International Congress in London with over 5,633 abstracts accepted and 525 sessions taking place. In addition, we saw 15 new societies join our membership network, the launch of Respipedia, the increase of the ERJ impact factor to 8.332, the 13th Lung Science Conference, the launch of a new theme for Healthy Lungs for Life campaign and many more activities expanding our mission to promote scientific research, drive standards in respiratory education and raise awareness of lung disease amongst the public and politicians. You can keep up with all ERS’s latest news online.
Over the next year, I will be responsible for further implanting our 5-year strategic plan. Now in our 4th year, we have made significant strides towards the goals we set. I have welcomed the changes to the new membership structure as I have witnessed the increased collaboration across the globe. During 2017, we have plans to extend this further as we sign contracts with more societies, including with paediatric societies, thereby opening the doors of ERS and extending access to ERS materials, resources and events. I would like to welcome all those new members who have joined our growing international respiratory community over the last year. Each and every one of our members has an intrinsic role to play within the ERS Assemblies and Groups to help set the agenda across all ERS activities. If you are not already part of an assembly, you can log in to ‘MyERS’ and join one main group and up to two more groups to best suit your professional interest area.
I am looking forward to further expanding our advocacy activities in the coming months. Advocacy is a key pillar of ERS and our mission is to advocate for better than lung health among policymakers and the public. This year will see a continuation of our Healthy Lungs for Life campaign and a strengthening of our partnerships with other key European and international organisations to promote respiratory health, clean air and a smoke-free world.
In September, we will bring the ERS International Congress to Milan, Italy. Remaining the biggest event in the respiratory calendar, we continue to develop our scientific and educational offerings at the Congress. This year, alongside the cutting-edge scientific advancements we have also enhanced our educational programme to provide a track of sessions with clinical updates in all areas of pulmonary medicine. We will also be developing our range of digital offerings for allowing respiratory professionals to follow the Congress remotely. We are already busy working on the Congress and will share more developments with you in the coming months.
In addition to the Congress, we have a range of conferences, educational events, online courses, and funding opportunities on offer throughout the year. We have put together the below calendar of events to give you a snapshot of the year ahead and you can keep up to date with all our activities on our website and social media channels.
I look forward to continuing our collaboration together throughout 2017 as we all work towards our shared goal of improving lung health. I wish you all a productive, happy and healthy year.
With best wishes,
Professor Guy Joos
ERS President