Acta Ophthalmologica 2020

Editorial
Will the Earth move during the 2020 NordicCongress of Ophthalmology?
Acta Ophthalmol. 2020: 98: 109–110ª 2020 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

doi: 10.1111/aos.14393

T

he Nordic Congresses of Ophthalmology will be held in Reykjavik on 4–6 June 2020. Many of you
remember two large earthquakes during the congress in 2000 in Reykjavik
and the eruption of Eyjafjallaj€
okull
the months before the congress in2010. The eruption in Eyjafjallaj€
okullclosed much of Europe´s airspace
during April 2010, and although the2010 congress organizers had promised to do better than the earthquakes in 2000, the eruption in
Eyjafjallaj€
okull had subsided by thetime of the congress. Once again,
mother nature is participating in thecongress planning. Rising of the earth´s crust and repeated earthquakes havebeen detected since January just westof the Blue Lagoon and the fishingvillage of Grindavik.
The ground rising is unusually rapid
and has reached 5 cm by early February, accompanied by 1300 earthquakes.
This is most likely due to magma
accumulation at a depth of just a few
kilometres. The ground rising is occurring on plate boundaries and within an
active volcanic system.
The last known eruptions in thisarea were during 1210–1240 AD. Several eruptions occurred on 1–10 kmlong fissures resulting in large fields oflava. These lava fields are clearly visible
during the approach to Keflavik airport and during the short drive toReykjavik. No explosive eruptions likethe one in Eyjafjallaj€
okull are known inthis system. For those interested, www.
icelandicvolcanoes.is is a catalogue ofIcelandic volcanoes, a kind ofsm€
org"asbord of volcanoes.
According to scientists, it is most
likely that the activity will cease

without further activity. The organizing committee can therefore not promise an eruption during the congress.
We can only wait and see what mothernature brings us.
We can however promise an exciting
congress programme with speakers
from the Nordic countries and others,
including the UK and the UnitedStates. There will be cutting edge keynote lectures and more than 30 symposia and courses.
Professor Anders Kvanta fromStockholm will lead us from biologicaltreatment to gene and cell therapy inretinal disease. Professor Dr. Richard
Collin from London, who has been an
undisputed world leader in the field of
oculoplastic for decades, will presentinteresting topics from his vast

experience. Professor Eugene de Juanfrom San Francisco will talk about
innovation in ophthalmology and giveinsights from his extensive experience
with innovation and invention. Professor Leon Herndon from Duke
University will talk about advanced
glaucoma – are we making a diﬀerence,
Professor Mark Humayun from Los
Angeles will speak during the opening
ceremony on the development of theretinal prosthesis. Professor Emeritus
Gerald J. Chader also from Los Angeles will summarize the talks on retinal
dystrophies, during the closing ceremony.
All subspecialties in ophthalmology
will be presented during the more than
30 symposia, including an ambitious
programmefromtheYoung109

Acta Ophthalmologica 2020

Ophthalmologists. The preliminary
programme can be seen on www.
nok2020.com.
Retina International World Congress (www.riwc2020.is) will be heldat the same time and venue featuringprominent retinal scientists and clinicians along with leaders in patientadvocacy and peer support. Participants of NOK2020 will have full accessto the RIWC2020 congress.
A lot has changed in Reykjavik andIceland since the last NOK meeting in2010. In 2014, mother nature gave us
Holuhraun, in the north-eastern part of
the highlands, a lava field similar inarea as the city of Copenhagen, or
more than 85 km2 and 1.4 km3, thelargest in Iceland since 1783. The
eruption in Eyjafjallaj€
okull in 2010
drew quite a lot of international attention to Iceland, and many claim thatwas part of the reason for the rapid
increase in tourism. Tourism is now

110

Iceland’s largest export sector, havinggrown by some 390% since 2010. Thishas created a vibrant city centre in
Reykjavik with numerous restaurants,museums, galleries and concerts.
The NOK2020 congress will be heldin Reykjavik´s new congress and concert hall, Harpa. Harpa means harp inIcelandic. It is also the Icelandic namefor the first month of spring. Harpa is
the home of the Icelandic SymphonyOrchestra and the Icelandic Opera. The
first international meeting held in thebuilding was an ophthalmology congress, the 2010 meeting of the Club
Jules Gonin.
Harpa was designed by the Danish
architect firm Henning Larsen, and thedesign of the facades is based on ageometrical principle developed in Olafur Eliasson´s studio, inspired by Iceland´s characteristic basalt rocks. We
ophthalmologists may very well see aresemblance with the corneal endothe-lium, with the occasional cornea guttata,in the beautiful hexagonal pattern in theceiling! Harpa has received numerous
rewards for its architecture, including
the Mies van der Rohe award in 2013,and has, for example, been chosen as
Europe’s best congress hall in 2016 by
the magazine Business destination.
We look forward to seeing you in
Reykjavik on 4–6 June 2020. We hope
many of you will use the opportunity tobring your families and enjoy theIcelandic early summer time. Early
June is one of the best times to visit
Iceland, with bright nights and nature
blooming. And who knows what else
mother nature will bring us?
Gunnar M!
ar Zoega1
and J!
ohann Ragnar Guðmundsson21
President of NOK2020; 2President of
the Icelandic Ophthalmological SocietyE-mail: gunnarmz@landspitali.is