30th Meeting of the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends,

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Program Committee it is a great pleasure to invite you to the 30th ESTS meeting next June 19-21 in The Hague, Netherlands.

The last couple of years have been a very difficult time and we have gone through personal and professional hardship and sorrow. The scientific community has been physically separated and many of those events which in the past we considered a nice routine have been violently scrapped from our lives. We have been forced to communicate and learn science through online events and webinars. They were very effective in keeping us up to date with the latest scientific evidence, but they were not enough.

A scientific congress is not just a series of lectures or talks delivered from a podium, there is much more. There is the social interaction, meeting old friends and making new acquaintances which may turn to become lifelong, discussing a project over a coffee, inviting colleagues to spend time in our unit. Especially for young doctors, a congress represents the unique opportunity to meet renown surgeons and perhaps establish connections that can lead to new professional opportunities.

There is a congress beyond the congress which for most is even more relevant than the lectures or symposia.

I am happy to inform you that the Board and Program Committee have agreed this year to revert to a face to face meeting. It is particularly symbolic that the next Congress, the congress which will epitomise the return to our beloved “normality”, will be the 30th Annual Congress of our Society. An important birthday for ESTS.

The Program Committee has been working hard to put together a vibrant and comprehensive program. A program which will be up to the expectations of our many thoracic surgical colleagues who have continued to faithfully support our Organisation during the last period.

Improving patient care through training and education is the core value of ESTS and we will always do our best to align our activities and our programs to this mission statement.

Dear Colleagues and Friends, as President of ESTS, the world’s largest society for General Thoracic Surgery, I am very happy and honoured to welcome all of you to The Hague next June to share and learn the most up to date evidence in our specialty and to enjoy networking with your friends and colleagues.