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International Council of Ophthalmology Foundation

About the ICOFoundation

International Council of Ophthalmology Foundation

The International Council of Ophthalmology Foundation (ICOFoundation, www.icofoundation.org), established in 2002, acts to support ophthalmic education, advocate quality eye care and advance scientific ophthalmology through support of International Council of Ophthalmology programs.

With a yearlong planning process in 2007, the ICOFoundation Officers and Directors developed a strategic plan entitled Envision 2008–2010. Commencing with analysis of the activities conducted in 2007, this forward-looking multiyear agenda projects the ICOFoundation goals, financial resources and organizational development required to advance ophthalmic education and eye care in areas of greatest need.

Implementing the strategic plan in 2008, the ICOFoundation expanded the donor base, increased support for ongoing programs and initiated support for new programs including:

Dissemination on the Internet of presentations at the 2008 World Ophthalmology Congress(R) on the ICO open access website (www.icoph.org)
Distribution by the International Council of Ophthalmology and American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) of the AAO Basic and Clinical Science Course to 200 resident training programs in economically disadvantaged, low-income countries
Initiation of a Network of Catholic Eye Hospitals in Nigeria to provide sustainable population-based eye care; and
Commencement of Ophthalmology Subspecialty Fellowships, one year in duration, at the ICO/Alcon Ophthalmology Training Center, University Eye Hospital, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

For more information about ICOFoundation activities and programs, please download the 2008 Annual Report: ICOFoundAnnRpt08.pdf (PDF – 3.1 MB).

ICOFoundation Board of Directors Meeting in Atlanta on November 9, 2008. Left to right: Hilel Lewis, MD; Jean-Jacques C. DeLaey, MD, PhD; Bradley R. Straatsma, MD, JD; Rubens Belfort, MD, PhD; Paul A. Sieving, MD, PhD; Alice R. McPherson, MD; Bruce E. Spivey, MD; Timothy R. G. Sear; H.R.H. Prince Abdulaziz Ahmed Abdulaziz Al Saud; Alfred Sommer, MD, MHS; Yasuo Tano, MD; Paul R. Lichter, MD; David E. I. Pyott; and James V. Mazzo

International Council of Ophthalmology

Celebrating 150 years of international ophthalmology, the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO, www.icoph.org) traces its origin to 1857 when 150 ophthalmologists from 24 countries convened in Brussels for the first International Congress of Ophthalmology. Since then, the ICO has been responsible for organizing the periodic International Congress of Ophthalmology and for conducting global programs to advance ophthalmology education, patient care and research.

The ICO’s organizational structure was consolidated in 2008 by uniting the ICO and International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies under the single name, International Council of Ophthalmology. Members of the former International Federation became members of the International Council of Ophthalmology and members of the ICO became trustees of the International Council of Ophthalmology.

Uniquely representative of world ophthalmology, the ICO, registered as a nonprofit organization in Switzerland, is made up of the national ophthalmology societies of over 100 countries and more than 23 multinational subspecialty ophthalmology societies. The ICO brings together ophthalmologists worldwide.

World Alliance for Sight. Emphasizing the unity of world ophthalmology, the ICO—functioning as the World Alliance for Sight—strengthened collaborations with multinational and national ophthalmology organizations by joint organization of World Ophthalmology Congresses® in Hong Kong, China (2008), Berlin, Germany (2010), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (2012), and Tokyo, Japan (2014).

World Ophthalmology Congress®

In 2010, the World Ophthalmology Congress® will convene June 5–9 in Berlin, Germany, with Dr. Gerhard K. Lang (Germany) as President. We are anticipating another outstanding scientific and social program. More information is available at www.woc2010.org.

The 2008 World Ophthalmology Congress® in Hong Kong, China, was led by Dr. Dennis S. C. Lam (China) as President. The Congress combined the XXXI International Congress of Ophthalmology; the XXIII Congress of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology; the XIII Congress of the Chinese Ophthalmological Society, and the XX Hong Kong Ophthalmological Symposium.

Organized by the International Council of Ophthalmology, the 2006 World Ophthalmology Congress® in São Paulo, Brazil, combined the XXX International Congress of Ophthalmology; the XXVI Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology; and the XVII Brazilian Blindness Prevention and Visual Rehabilitation Congress. All components of the 2006 World Ophthalmology Congress® were united for the purpose of transmitting knowledge, stimulating discovery through research, and decreasing avoidable visual impairment and blindness.

International Council of Ophthalmology and ICOFoundation Programs

Programs of the ICO and ICOFoundation stem from the International Ophthalmology Strategic Plan to Preserve and Restore Vision — Vision for the Future published in 2001 and a comprehensive strategic planning process conducted through a series of meetings in 2006–2007.

With actions as closely intertwined as two strands of DNA, ICO and ICOFoundation programs support Ophthalmic Education and Training, Ophthalmic Knowledge Examinations, Ophthalmology Fellowship Training, Ophthalmology Training and Eye Care Centers, Eye and Vision Care Guidelines, Advocacy for Preservation of Vision, and Research in Ophthalmology and Vision.

ICO and ICOFoundation Programs: