Message from the PAOF Chair
As the year draws to a close, we look back at a year with satisfaction and success at PAAO.
With education as a core mission for the Pan-American, we have kept updated in 2023 through very successful PAAO events including our PAAO Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina and our collaborations are larger than ever. The new year, will start with our XXVII Pan-American Regional Course of Ophthalmology, March 15-17, 2024 in San Juan, Puerto Rico! Already an organizational success both from the scientific and social point of view!
The PAAO is more and more the organization that you want to belong to, if you want to NETWORK! However, PAAO is not only CONNECTIONS, it is a lot of EDUCATION! We are immensely proud about the educational impact of our e-Learning program coordinated by Drs. Helena Filipe and Eduardo Viteri following the tradition of excellence started by Dr. Eduardo Mayorga. PAAO e-Learning includes the creation of an educational platform “CAMPUS PAAO” now part of the newly created “PAAO HUB OF SCIENCE”. We congratulate our president Dr. Paulo Dantas on this initiative. We envision that the PAAO HUB OF SCIENCE with Campus PAAO to become like a university for ophthalmology in the region online. Webinars, and synchronous and asynchronous courses are currently dictated in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. The PAAO HUB OF SCIENCE also includes a link to the most important academic institutions worldwide. The number of attendees that benefit from these activities is increasing exponentially and we give opportunity to our professors (including our PAAO YO) to reach our PAAO community.
J. Fernando Arevalo MD PhD
PAOF Chair, 2021-2024
Happy Holidays!
The PAAO, through education and with the generosity of many of you, has contributed significantly to the prevention of blindness in the Americas and is building the future leaders of ophthalmology in our region. It is that time of the year to enjoy our families and friends, to celebrate and to be thankful for what we have. In addition, it gives us the amazing opportunity to look ahead with hope and optimism for what is coming in 2024.
The PAOF continues to work tirelessly and supports the PAAO membership, particularly our junior/early-career members via various grants/awards, and opportunities through our Travel Awards, and scholarships. We are in the process of creating more opportunities for you as we speak. We hope that PAAO members will generously support the Foundation (https://paao.org/paof/donate/) throughout the year. No gift is small, donate what you can. The more gifts donated, the more support the Foundation can provide to PAAO programs.
The New Year is always a fresh start full of promises, and the holiday season an opportunity to give. The future is great if we stick together as a Pan-American community! We are better, stronger and the goal is to meet again at our XXVII Pan-American Regional Course of Ophthalmology, March 15-17, 2024 in San Juan, Puerto Rico! And at the XXXVI Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology, May 30-June 2, 2025 in Bogota, Colombia! It’s at these superb meetings where ophthalmology from all the Americas come together to meet and you cannot miss that!
Happy Holidays!
Fernando Arevalo MD PhD
PAOF Chair