The word from the President

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to the new version of the website of the Society for Ophthalmo-Immunoinfectiology in Europe (SOIE).

SOIE was founded in 2004/2005 and is still a young society that took over and extended the activities of the SOIF a group active since 1995 in French speaking geographical areas, organising yearly educational events in France, Belgium, Switzerland, the Carraibes, Tunisia and the Indian Ocean.
From 2005 the SOIE sponsored or participated in several uveitis symposia and courses in Italy, namely in Reggio Emilia in 2004 and 2005 and in Como in 2005. The first annual congress of the SOIE took place in Monte Carlo, Monaco, June 15-17, 2006 which was combined with the Moorfields Uveitis Course, attracting participants from all over Europe interested in uveitis.
In May 2007 a course and symposium on “Progress in diagnosis and treatment of uveitis” was organised in the city of Cracow, Poland in collaboration with the departments of ophthalmology of the universities of Cracow and Lublin.
In September 2007 it actively participated in the 9th international IOIS congress with a SOIE organised symposium and in October 2007 and 2008 it did the same in the yearly meetings of the European research congress EVER.
In April 2008 a very successful meeting was organised by our new General Secretary in his town of Ancona, attracting more than 300 participants.
In June 2008 the second annual SOIE congress was organised in Cappadoccia, Turkey, enjoying a record number of participants and spectacular sceneries.

After nearly five years of activity, time has come to step up with our activities once more. Under the impulse of our new Secretary General Piergiorgio NERI, the website has been made anew and is now more attractive and userfriendly. 

The preparation of the third annual 2009 meeting of the SOIE is going full speed. This event will be held from November 12 to 15, 2009 in the oasis of Tozeur In the Tunesian Sahara. It will be held in conjunction with the annual Ophthalmology Symposium of Monastir and other societies. Our local host will be Professor Moncef Khairallah, head of the Monastir Ophthalmology Department.
The fourth annual SOIE meeting in 2010 is projected to be held in Greece in conjunction with Hellenic Society for the Study of Ocular Inflammations and Infections. Future meetings are planned in Japan from 15th to 16th of May 2011 in collaboration with the Japanese Inflammation Society and in the same year there will be a second SOIE meeting on the European continent in Italy. We have presently contacts in Russia and plan to hopefully organise a SOIE meeting in Saint-Petersburg in 2011 or 2012.
   
The aim of the society remains the same: try to achieve high standards in our educational work without taking ourselves too seriously, especially favouring friendly contacts and mutual help.
In our official medical journal INTERNATIONAL OPHTHALMOLOGY, the International Journal of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, we try to sollicit our members for the publication of their latest clinical and research work, that will be peer-reviewed by a young and dynamic board of reviewers.
For the members of the SOIE the subscription to INTERNATIONAL OPHTHALMOLOGY is included in the membership dues.

As you see, the group is very active especially in Europe, aiming also at the new countries in the east, where links are beeing established, as well as around the Mediterranean Sea.

As you can see from past and planed future activities you will not get bored in the SOIE, so join us as soon as possible.

For the Executive Committee