President 2008 - PACO PINAL
It is sad that we have to start this report by sending my/our condolences to all our American colleagues, and more so to our Bostonian friends, for the terrible events that have occurred the day before yesterday in Boston. In different countries we have also suffered similar attacks and we all wonder which brain connection these guys are missing. Please receive all our deepest sympathies.
Saying this, I also must first apologize for not having sent any report or notice from me (us) for several months. I actually I was hoping, at the same time of giving you the agenda for the meeting in Antalya, to be in condition to share with you the very good news that after months of tough negotiations with Thieme (the Publishers of the Journal of Wrist Surgery) and us, and I am glad to say that we have reached an agreement with them.
The four (Christophe, Max, Jan and me) have been doing our best to try to get the best for EWAS members. Basically, they (Thieme) have agreed that all members of EWAS will have a major discount on the subscription fees to the Journal of Wrist Surgery. The cost for us will be of 36 euros per year, while the prize for any non-Ewas member would be around 140 euros!!
The subscription will have to be made by all the members, and we will endorse the Journal of Wrist Surgery as our official journal. Although we have worked very hard for this arrangement, needless to say, the General Assembly will have to vote this in order to be accepted.
This is good news, but not least is the fact that we are more than 700 members around the World!!!
Another good news is the fact that in Strasbourg we discussed the establishment of 2 prizes. The first one is a prize for a surgeon who has contributed significantly to the development of new techniques and is named after one of the pioneers in our field: Terry Whipple Prize, it has not financial attachment, but a plaque and the invitation to lecture in our FESSH session. On a yearly basis too, an EWAS Junior Grant will be given to a surgeon who wants to learn or develop new techniques. This one has attached a bourse of 2000 euros. The conditions for applying will be in the web.
