Dear friends and colleagues,
The BIRD Congress in November 2024 was a successful edition both in attendance and scientific content. With this, the 2-day BIRD congress enforces its position as the landmark IBD event in the gastroenterology space in Belgium. This year we choose to stay in Brussels during the third weekend of November, to welcome all health care professionals (HCPs) interested in the care for patients with IBD. Last year we welcomed a wide variety of HCPs with not only physicians and nurses, but also multiple affiliates with a background of clinical trialist, dietitian, psychologist and researcher with different levels of experience.
In a rapidly evolving IBD world, the key to success is high level education, collaboration, and networking. BIRD has achieved some important milestones during the last year. We presented the results of two BIRD-sponsor investigator initiated trials (Rescue and Caruc-ASA). The Rescue study received the ECCO investigator initiated study award at the ECCO 2025 congress in Berlin and was selected as best IBD abstract for the plenary session at DDW. The BIRD registry is continuously growing with currently ~4000 Belgian patients included. After the success of the IUS course last year we now organized a new IUS course in collaboration with IBUS. Moreover, the epidemiology working group is building a framework for epidemiological IBD data in Belgium in close collaboration with the mutualities and Sciensano. All of this reflects the collaborative spirit within BIRD. The future looks bright for BIRD!
For our BIRD 2025 Fourth Annual Congress, we have expanded our educational training program in response to the overwhelming success of last year. This year, on Friday morning, we now have 4 parallel educational trainings. All trainings are open to any type of HCP. First, we will slice the Rescue study during the deep dive journal club. In a second educational training, we will focus on the challenge of how to accommodate the growing number of patients with IBD and the role of technology. The third offer is a session on the impact of chronic illness on the society and workforce reintegration of patients. The final training option will bring an introduction to IBD for those that recently entered the IBD field.
For the main BIRD Congress program, we will keep the 2-day formula with national and international key opinion leaders. On Friday afternoon, we will discuss hot topics in IBD care. In this edition, we will first focus on three tricky situations that are not so often encountered yet pose multiple challenges (PSC, pouch and transplant). Afterwards, we will dive deeper in daily issues in IBD care linked to changes in the body (IBS, obesity and teenagers). Saturday morning will energize you with various interactive workshops. You can choose 2 of the 5 workshops: BIRD registry, treatment optimization, histology, preventive medicine and nutrition. Get your spot! By default, our BIRD Congress will conclude with a session dedicated to the best of the major international congresses of the past year. If you were not able to attend ECCO, DDW or UEGW in 2025, the BIRD Congress will provide you with a summary of the most important studies presented earlier this year.
And not to forget, after the success of the previous editions, we will again organize a fantastic conference dinner on Friday evening, 7pm at the Mix, where all participants can get to know each other while enjoying the vibrating atmosphere of Brussels. Do not miss this opportunity!
We sincerely hope to see you all at the Fourth Annual BIRD Congress!
Sincerely,
Dr. Peter Bossuyt
on behalf of the BIRD 2025 Congress Organizing Committee