ESGE news and upcoming events January 2023

Happy New Year!

Helmut Messmann

On behalf of ESGE, I wish you and your families a happy and healthy new year.

After more than two years of pandemic and a virtual congress in 2021 we were thrilled to be able to hold ESGE Days 2022 as a hybrid meeting in Prague. What a success! More than 3000 participants enjoyed the event. Covid-19 was still present and challenged our organisation, however, this was not the biggest hurdle. In February we were faced with a war in the middle of Europe. ESGE was one of the first societies to show solidarity with our Ukrainian colleagues by suspending the Russian Society of Endoscopy’s ESGE membership. ESGE stands for diversity, peace and democracy and all endoscopists who support this are welcome in our society.

The number of ESGE Individual Members continues to steadily grow and alongside our successful congress we have been active in many other projects. Guidelines are one of our most important activities, giving ESGE visibility on an international stage, and with our Position Statements we demonstrate we are key opinion leaders on important topics such as AI, diversity and green endoscopy.

Last year saw the formation of a new Green Endoscopy working group. Keep an eye out for their ‘green tips’ in our newsletters – starting this month!

In 2022 we continued our popular webinars, introducing new ‘papers of the month’ and ‘live video endoscopy’ series.

Another important project was the relocation of the domicile of ESGE from Lyon to Munich, which helps us to work more efficiently.

Next year our congress will again be hybrid, based in Dublin at an outstanding congress centre. An excellent programme has been developed, thanks to the great job of our Scientific Committee under the leadership of Marianna Arvanitakis along with the support of the Irish Society of Gastroenterology and their president Deirdre McNamara.

During the past few years we have also increased our collaboration with international endoscopic societies, as well as with European societies such as ECCO and EASL. I look forward in particular to the collaborative webinars we have planned.

Our various grants programmes continue to provide support to, in particular, our younger members. After difficulties due to Covid 19 I am particularly pleased that our fellowship grants are again running at full steam.

To everyone involved in ESGE’s many projects I would like to say a heartfelt thank you for giving your time voluntarily to further the medical field that we share a passion for.

Sincere thanks also to our sponsors, who support our education, research and the improvement of endoscopic patient care.

Next, I would like to thank my friends on the Executive Committee: Secretary General, Raf Bisschops, Treasurer Cesare Hassan, and President Elect, Ian Gralnek, who will take over presidency at ESGE Days 2023. They have provided outstanding support over the past two years. I am also very grateful for the friendship, as well as the continued excellent work, of the Governing Board.

Finally, I would like to personally thank Hilary Hamilton-Gibs. Hilary will step back next year and without a doubt she has been the reason for the success of ESGE in the past years as well as being the heart of our society. ESGE appreciates the outstanding and dedicated service she has provided to us. Hilary built up an excellent team which means we remain at least a little optimistic about our survival once she steps down! Fortunately, we have been able to secure Jennifer Haas as our new Executive Director. Jennifer is a fantastic person and I am certain that, with her professional and positive attitude, she will be very worthy successor.

We look forward to an exciting year ahead and I very much hope to welcome you all personally in Dublin!

Helmut Messmann
ESGE President

Publication History

Article published online:
20 December 2022