Message from the chair of the Scientific Program Committee

As chairman of the Scientific Program Committee for the 12th International Orthoptic Congress can I say how much the committee and I are looking forward to receiving and reviewing the abstracts submitted to this congress. I was a member of the Congress Scientific Program Committee for the 11th International Orthoptic Congress held in Antwerp in 2008, and I was impressed by the standard of abstracts submitted. This was confirmed by the scientific quality of the congress and I'm looking forward to once again being involved in the selection of papers and posters for this internationally recognized Congress.

Scientific Program Committee

The committee and I have now visited the congress venue and I think both the city of Toronto and the venue will provide the basis of a great congress but the essential element for a successful congress is the scientific content. I hope everyone visiting the IOA 2012 website will consider submitting an abstract for an oral presentation or a poster. There will be a single program, without any satellite meetings. This, we feel, will remove the element of having to decide which excellent paper to listen to, but will also facilitate the widest range of contributors to the discussions following each session.

I am really looking forward to meeting international colleagues in Toronto both new and old but I'm also looking forward to the hard work of reading your abstracts next year!!

Here's to 2012!

Gail Stephenson
Chair of the Scientific Program Committee