The board of our society is a microcosmos where old and new, North, South and Center, academic and non-academic work together to serve our surgical community.  In order to achieve something, all of us need to do her/his share of work. The president is  merely one piece of a puzzle, whose task is mainly to organise the next BSW.

Speaking of which : I loved the 20th BSW; a relevant congress theme, a growing attendance with a record number of youngsters, inspiring keynote speakers, well-organised sessions, a warm atmosphere, a jolly surgical night, the quiz, a perfect hands-on workshop,…….. all courtesy of many who benevolently put time and energy in  this project and in particular of Jean Lemaitre, our past president. Jean injected a lot of good vibes not only in the last BSW, but in all the new projects he launched, on top of that with his humility-trademark. I am truly convinced that the merry atmosphere he created made all of us work more efficiently.

The board will try to keep the recently started projects alive: the colorectal tour, the VATS tour, the “BAST meets RBSS” sessions, the robotic group and the involvement of young surgeons in the society. Very probably, new initiatives will see the light of day soon.

My main task will be to organize the 21st BSW. As some of you already know it will take place in Antwerp on 7-9/5/2020 in the Elisabeth center (www.fmcca.com), a beautiful  historical location at walking distance of the Central station.

The congress theme will be “Out of the box”.