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Dear colleagues,
It is a real honour to become RBSS president. Thank you for having chosen me. I am very excited to be part of a great team. |
dr. Charles de Gheldere |
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”.
I proposed this theme because we surgeons tend to work, study, read, discuss and go to congresses about topics nicely fitting in our own little surgical box. In doing so, we might lose track of the way our surgical practice fits in the bigger scheme of things. In next year’s BSW we will have a look at our surgical practice from a number of different angles. I hope we will be able to get your attention and to broaden your horizon in the two plenary sessions with a number of renowned international guests, most of whom are not surgeons. The sections and affiliated societies will be invited to organise their session in tune with the theme of the congress, and - of course - plenty of time will be provided to place our youngsters in the spotlight.
More info to follow soon.
Save the date and join us in Antwerp !
Kind regards,
Charles de Gheldere
president RBSS 2019-2021