Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear ECCO Friends,

With the summer approaching we hope you enjoy the second Issue of ECCO NEWS where you will find the preliminary scientific programme and our educational Activities at ECCO’23. As usual we offer a wide range of Workshops and Courses for IBD Nurses, surgeons, young gastroenterologists, paediatricians, scientists and allied healthcare professionals.

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear ECCO Family,

We missed you! Believe me, we did our best. The ECCO Office, the ECCO Governing Board and the Organising Committee had to adapt to this virus and this last minute change in the format of our congress was not easy to deal with. The educational programme was held virtually and was very successful! In the last two years, we learned that education can be done virtually and all speakers were well trained to teach using these new tools.

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear ECCO Family,

As you know, we are aiming that the ECCO Congress will be a physical one and that it will take place on February 16–19, 2022 in Vienna. This will be the first physical international IBD conference since ECCO 2020! We felt that we could not take the risk of losing the ECCO Spirit. ECCO is in great shape, as you will see in this issue of ECCO News.

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear ECCO Family,

I hope you had a wonderful summertime and could escape the pandemic for a few days. First of all, I would like to thank everybody who attended ECCO’21 Virtual - we had a stunning 6,798 participants from 104 countries. Thanks to your unconditional support, the ECCO Congress is Europe’s most important event in the field of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. With 828 accepted abstracts, ECCO’21 once again presented the latest in science.

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear Friends,

I hope that all ECCO Members will be vaccinated when reading this article except maybe a few Y-ECCO Members!

This is the second issue of ECCO News this year and the 16^th Congress of ECCO is fastly approaching.

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear Friends,

My first words and thoughts are for you. When we decided that ECCO’21 would be virtual, it was not an easy thing, believe me. And I know that it was probably also a big disappointment for you. However, we all have to take our responsabilities. ECCO is in our heart the most important thing, but the health of thousands of people cannot be put in danger. You will enjoy this format that will be unique and attractive, you can count on us. I really hope that it is the last time that we cannot share a beer and dance together.

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear Friends,

I was hoping that the COVID pandemic would be over by the time I came to write this editorial. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The second wave has started, but there is some good news: we have the first vaccines. This means that we should all be able to meet in Copenhagen in July! I am predicting a big celebration there.

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear ECCO IBD Community,

Dear ECCO Friends,

We are all facing the challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The numerous virtual meetings that are held every week have helped us to realise how important real interaction is in a community, and this is especially true for ECCO. This virus has forced us to develop virtual clinics that allow our patients to stay at home and reduce the disease burden. This is probably the only benefit of the pandemic.

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear ECCO IBD Community,

Dear ECCO Friends,

During the past three months of the COVID-19 pandemic ECCO has intensively and carefully analysed measures of how to safely steer our ECCO activities through the upcoming year. ECCO would like to share some important information with you:

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear ECCO Friends,

We are going through a hard time. The first cases of COVID-19 in Europe were reported during the ECCO Congress in Vienna. The world is facing a pandemic which is not easy to treat and for which the course cannot be predicted. As IBD physicians, we are used to manage a difficult disease but not a lockdown. The ECCO spirit will help us coping with social isolation, which is the opposite of the ECCO goal. Our organization will contribute to this fight by publishing weekly interviews of worldwide experts (link to interviews) telling us how to manage our patients and how to keep moving forward during this pandemic.