Dear friends and colleagues,
First of all, we would like to thank all the attendees of the first BIRD congress in 2022. The first edition of the BIRD congress surpassed all our expectations. During the 2-day BIRD congress, 259 physicians, nurses, clinical trial assistants, dietitians, psychologists, researchers, and sponsors joined us at Kursaal in Ostend. It gives us great pleasure to see an increasing participation in BIRD, from both sides of the language border. On top of the high quality science and discussion during the meeting, the networking event was a memorable success for all who were present!
The success of the first BIRD congress reflects the continuous evolution within BIRD, where education, collaboration, and networking are increasingly important aspects. As a multidisciplinary group, BIRD welcomes every health care practitioner with interest in IBD, including gastroenterologists, IBD nurses, dietitians, psychologists, and also abdominal surgeons, pathologists, and radiologists. The increasing numbers of patients in our BIRD registry, the creation of BIRD biobank, and the recruitment success of ongoing BIRD sponsored studies all reflect the collaborative spirit within BIRD. The future looks bright for BIRD!
For the second BIRD congress, we will keep the 2-day formula with national and international key opinion leaders. On Friday afternoon we will discuss the hot topics in IBD care. In this edition, we want to encourage the participation of abdominal surgeons in BIRD and in the BIRD congress, hence, we dedicated a session to the pre-operative optimalisation of our patients with IBD. And on Saturday morning, we will again include a session dedicated to the best of the major international congresses: ECCO, DDW and UEGW. If you were not able to attend these congresses, the BIRD congress will provide you with a summary of the most important studies presented this year.
Additionally, we will organize two Educational Trainings on Friday morning before the congress. In the BIRD Educational Training, we will analyze the SPARE study from different perspectives: the principal investigator, a biostatistician, and an ethics and good clinical practice expert. And in the BINAstoria Educational Training we will elaborate on the framework and practical implementation for an IBD clinic in Belgium. These trainings are accessible to all healthcare professionals as well as the sponsors of the educational training sessions.
For our BIRD 2023 Second Annual Congress, we will stay in West Flanders and we choose the new Bruges Meeting & Convention Centre.
Finally, after the success of the first edition, we will again organize a fantastic networking event on Friday evening, 7pm at De Halve Maan, where all participants can get to know each other while enjoying the beautiful scenery of the city of Bruges. Do not miss this opportunity as tickets are limited.
We sincerely hope to see you all at the second BIRD congress!
See you then!
Kind regards,
Prof. Dr. João Sabino
on behalf of the Organizing Committee:
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Clara Caenepeel Michaël Somers Jolien de Rechter Noortje Straetemans Triana Lobaton Bram Verstockt Lieven Pouillon Ingrid Arijs João Sabino Jenifer King |
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This event is endorsed by ECCO
