The 65th congress of the Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis Research, the GTH 2021, will
take place “simply online”. This will be the first time in the congress history, and
I thank the Editor in Chief of Hämostaseologie – Progess in Haemostasis, Prof. Rüdiger Scharf, for giving me the opportunity to write a brief commentary
on this unusual congress format.
ACROSS BORDERS
The motto of the GTH 2021 is ACROSS BORDERS. I chose these two words in order to highlight
the fascinating interdisciplinary character of clinical and research activities in
the field of Haemostasis and Thrombosis. I urge you to visit the congress webpage
(www.gth2021.org) and discover the organisation committee in which serve theme leaders from several
clinical disciplines that we interact with daily. This interdisciplinary character
is reflected in the topics of the State-of-the-Art and Oral Communication sessions.
ACROSS BORDERS addresses also the challenge to think across the lines, both in a humanistic
and scientific way; this aspect will be addressed by the Plenaries entitled “Thrombosis
& Haemostasis across borders”, “Physicians across borders” and “Thinking across borders”.
Finally, ACROSS BORDERS was supposed to highlight the fact that for the first time
in its history, the GTH congress would have taken place in the French-speaking part
of Switzerland. Instead, the tiny virus SARS-CoV-2 changed our big plans and offered
us an even bigger challenge.
The digital barrier
Facing the first pandemic wave of COVID-19 it soon became clear that it would have
not been possible to organize a classic face-to-face meeting. At first, we considered
the option of a hybrid congress. The observation we made during this phase was very
interesting. The majority of the speakers and members of the organising committees
were hoping for this option, asking for planning flexibility for as long as possible.
Completely opposite was the position of the partners of the industry, asking for the
decision of a virtual congress as soon as possible. It was a debate between passion
and reason. Eventually, on August 2020, during a videoconference with the GTH Council,
we decided to go for a GTH congress “simply online”. The new challenge was to break
the limitations imposed by a digital format and identify the opportunities offered
by this situation.
Simply online … worth experiencing
Possibly, the online congress will attract curious minds who would not have attended
a face-to-face GTH congress, thus widening our audience. This will depend on our ability
to advertise the congress outside our usual areas of activity. For this we need your
help!
The scientific part of the congress will be pre-recorded in order to achieve the best
technical performance possible. The lectures will be available online for on-demand
viewing on the congress virtual platform till the end of March 2021 and afterwards
– possibly virtually unlimited – on the congress website. This opportunity will solve
the problem of choosing between parallel sessions. You will be able to listen to the
various scientific contributions, from Plenaries to Oral Communications, at your convenience.
You could even organize a “beer & pizza workshop”, enjoying your preferred talks with
your team!
State-of-the-Art sessions and Oral Communications will be held in a “classic” format
with the novel possibility to ask your questions via chat. These will be discussed
at the end of the session in a live Q&A format moderated by the chairs. Posters will
be displayed in an interactive gallery with the opportunity to listen to a brief vocal
message of the author, summarizing the key aspects of her/his work. Additionally,
in order to foster the interaction with the authors, online discussion forums will
be available for both Oral Communications and Posters during the whole congress.
Finally, Master Classes will take place as live videoconferences. After a brief conceptual
introduction by the expert, participants will have the opportunity to animate the
discussion, which will last until the last question will be answered.
The industrial exhibition will be created in a lively 3D platform, in which you will
be able to stroll with your avatar visiting the boots of the various companies, interacting
with their representatives, and taking note of the information – brochures, scientific
articles, and videos – on display. The industry has seriously taken up the challenge
of supporting the online format of the GTH congress, and at the time of this writing,
all major companies have booked virtual exhibition surface. We are expecting to offer
twenty very interesting satellite symposia. Of note, a virtual exhibition appears
to be problematic for small companies, with less financial and technical means and
relying even more on personal contacts. Nevertheless, also smaller companies are supporting
the GTH 2021 congress.
Sounds and silence
At my first ASH congress, I attended a lecture held by Russell Ross on the inflammatory
pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis. Just as he was about to start speaking, the carrousel
with his slides (yes, there was a time before the memory stick) fell to the floor.
A dismayed silence filled the auditorium. Russell Ross, considering the impossibility
to restore the correct sequence of the slides, started to speak anyway. That was a
superb lecture! I am still impressed by his ability to recollect the sequence of the
concepts and information he had chosen to present and how well he was able to bring
to life those concepts in the mind of the listeners.
At the GTH 2021 Congress, there will be no sound of crushing slides nor moments of
dismayed silence. We will not meet face-to-face, and we will miss the personal encounter
with colleagues and friends, but we will have the opportunity to enjoy a congress
with excellent speakers, high-quality scientific contributions, and an unusual challenging
format: simply online … worth experiencing.
