The Nordic Congresses of Ophthalmology and Acta Ophthalmologica (2004)

The Nordic Congresses of Ophthalmology have been organized for more than a century. This summer it is time again: the XXXVI Nordic Ophthalmic Congress, NOK 36, will be held in Malmö 16–20 June. The Nordic Congress of Ophthalmology is a joint venture between the five Nordic Ophthalmological Societies, represented by the NOK Committee. An attractive programme that includes a large number of symposia with mainly clinical content has been put together. The response from the Nordic ophthalmic community to the invitations from the Malmö Organizing Committee has been extremely positive and the programme includes contributions from most of the leading scientists and clinicians in Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and from many invited guest speakers from other European countries. There are also many educational courses. The level of co-operation between industry and the Societies, through NOK, and the Organizing Committee has been close and very productive. Eight companies are supporting the meeting as gold and silver sponsors, and the number of exhibitors is large. This time the Organizing Committee and industry jointly decided not to organize any company-sponsored scientific sessions. Thus, the Organizing Committee and the Societies stand behind the scientific programme in its entirety. Industry will instead serve the profession by concentrating its efforts on providing the best information about its products and services at the exhibition. Registrants from industry are welcome to learn at the sessions in the same way as members of the Nordic Societies and other registrants. Please, study the programme of the Congress – for the first time the abstracts are published as a second, separate part of this issue of Acta– bring this abstract booklet to the meeting! The Nordic ophthalmology communities are increasingly coming together. There are strong bonds between the Societies, NOK and Acta Ophthalmologica. The Nordic Congresses of Ophthalmology are the most obvious manifestations of this co-operation, but Acta Ophthalmologica is also an increasingly uniting factor. Since the constitution of Acta was changed a number of years ago, the five Nordic Societies have had direct control over the journal through its board of directors, which includes two representatives from each of the five Societies. Acta has consequently become firmly established as a journal for all members of the Nordic Societies. The links between the Nordic Congress of Ophthalmology and Acta are visible during the Congress in several ways. The NOK plenary meeting is held during the Congress. The KKK Lundsgaard prize is awarded at the Congress to the authors of the best paper published in Acta during the two-year period since the last Congress. The new Acta Ophthalmologica Award and Gold Medal is now a most prestigious scientific ophthalmic honour, first granted at the 2002 Congress in Tampere. At the upcoming Malmö meeting the Acta Ophthalmologica Award will be given to Professor Leila Laatikainen, Helsinki, who will give the associated Acta Honorary Lecture, this time entitled ‘The fluorescein angiography revolution: a breakthrough with sustained impact’. Welcome to Malmö in June!