The ISS/SIC Council at the meeting in Krakow, March 2019
2. The role of our national delegates. They must be valued as they have an important role in our organization. In many ways they are the heart of the Society and the growth of our membership and the value our members see in the Society very much depends on their work. 3. The financial well-being of the Society. In many ways the future is bright. We have considerable challenges ahead, but our management team and our treasurer have steered the Society well and a successful congress in Krakow will contribute to that. Our membership is showing signs of growing and there is evidence of growth in Lower and Middle-Income countries which are our immediate targets. 4. The focus on Global Surgery has been confirmed. We aim to be a home for Global Surgery. We are involved with many key societies and are seen as a responsible and valued player in this area. There are so many good things going on and we have a role to play. As a ‘neutral’ we have an important opportunity to help bring
these activities together in a more strategic way. 5. Our Journal, the World Journal of Surgery, is going from strength to strength with increasing numbers of manuscripts being submitted (nearly 200 per month) and an increasing impact factor. There are many challenges in medical publishing but our editor, Julie-Ann Sosa, is doing a fabulous job along with her editorial team. 6. We have decided to work towards bringing a leader in surgical education on board. Originally our plan was to accomplish our educational mission through the Academy. Several issues have made it clear that an addition to Council of a leader in surgical education would likely be more effective. This person will coordinate the ISS/ SIC educational and training activities outside of those run by the Integrated Societies.
gress of Surgery. This is promising to be one of our best ever conferences with a fantastic line up of speakers, a massive number of presentations of original research from all around the globe and an exciting programme. You do not want to miss it. I look forward very much to seeing all of you in Krakow in August.
Andrew G. Hill President ISS/SIC Congress President WCS 2019
We were also able to visit the Krakow Convention Centre and reviewed the scientific programme and social programmes for the upcoming World Con-
May 2019
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