NEWSLETTER 20

IMPORTANT INFORMATION on the ECLSO Congress

The ECLSO Congress planned in Paris in September 2020 will be postponed to SEPTEMBER 3rd and 4th 2021 at the same location: Novotel Tour Eiffel Paris, 61 Quai de Grenelle 75015 Paris.

Please find the following contributions in this Newsletter:

• I. Message from the ECLSO President
• II. Contribution by our Secretary-General, prof Ömur Uçakhan-Gunduz, on COVID & Contact Lenses – practical advice and management
• III. Moorfields Education Institute: Announcement of Contact Lens Level 2 Module

I. Message from the ECLSO President

Dear colleagues, dear friends,

The uncertain situation created by the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic has caused the ECLSO to decide to postpone the congress to 2021.

Because we had only recently chosen for a biannual format, we didn’t organise a full congress in 2019. So we will have to wait another year until 2021 in order to present you with an event of international quality, providing you with the highest level of science and education in the field of medical application of contact lenses, anterior eye disease and myopia control.

In the meantime we will not go into hiding. Instead of the full congress this year, we are planning to organise a webinar on Saturday September 19th 2020, allowing you to virtually attend presentations on selected topics of interest. At the same time an ECLSO General Assembly and meeting of the National Representatives will be planned, of course also from a digital platform. We will also be present at SOE 2021 in Prague (June 10th-12th 2021) with an ECLSO symposium.

It was a difficult decision to defer the congress, but thinking about the unpredictability of the viral outbreaks, the problems our participants could encounter in travelling and the uncertainty of meeting regulations for the physical encounter of so many people coming together, made us take this final decision.

Thank you so much for understanding. We are looking forward to meeting again in Paris, Novotel Tour Eiffel, next year on September 3rd and 4th.

Prof Carina Koppen
ECLSO President

II. Covid and Contact Lenses – Prof Ömür Uçakhan-Gunduz

Our Secretary-General prof Ömür Uçakhan is so kind to share with us a very interesting presentation on “Starting Contact Lens Practice at the time of COVID-19 pandemic”. It provides you with information on the safety of contact lens wear and on how to protect ourselves and our patients.

III. Moorfields Education Institute: Announcement of Contact Lens Level 2 Module

Mrs Judith Morris, Module Lead for Contact Lens Higher Qualifications at Moorfields-UCL, has informed us about the new Contact Lens Level 2 module that is particularly targeted at Ophthalmologists and Hospital Optometrists. For more details contact moorfields.hq@nhs.net or have a look at www.ucl.ac.uk.

Thank you for your interest and support! We will keep you informed. Enjoy the summer time and stay healthy!.