Earthquakes, volcanoes and Nordic Congress of Ophthalmology

Abstract

Those of you who remember the Nordic Congress of Ophthalmology in Reykjavik in 2000 will recall the 6.8 Richter scale earthquake on the first day of the congress and the 6.5 earthquake at the end of the Gala dinner. At the time the organizing committee apologized for only being able to arrange earthquakes and promised to do better the next time around. Now we have. A volcanic eruption has started in Eyjafjallajokull, a beautiful glacier on the south coast of Iceland. This is about 90 min by car from Reykjavik and I can tell you from personal experience that the view is spectacular and the experience breath-taking. Molten lava is spewing at least 150 meters into the air piling up a new pitch-black mountain and melting away the white snow and ice all around. The last time Eyjafjallajokull erupted in 1821 the eruption lasted for 2 years and we are optimistic that the eruption will be going full force throughout the summer and can be included in the social program of the Nordic Ophthalmology Meeting. There is even a possibility for Katla, a huge volcano in neighbouring Myrdalsjokull to become active. This enormous volcano has been known to follow Eyjafallajokull at least for the last thousand years. The volcanic eruption is more than hundred kilometres away from Reykjavik and presents no danger to the population or visitors. The preliminary program for the Nordic Meeting is available on http://www.NOK2010.is. It is a powerful program with speakers from the Nordic countries, Great Britain, Japan and United States. It includes cutting edge science such as the keynote lecture by Robert MacLaren in Oxfold on gene therapy and stem cells for retinal disease and the keynote lecture by Gerald Chader, USA, on emerging therapies for retinal degenerative diseases. Dr. Chader will also talk about retinal electronic prosthesis in a retinitis pigmentosa symposium. All subspecialties in ophthalmology will be presented. Bill Aylward from Moorfields Eye Hospital will discuss controversies in retinal detachment surgery in a key note lecture, and Paul Lichter from the United States will discuss clinical trials in glaucoma in another key note lecture. Charlotta Zetterström will give a key note on cataract surgery in the third world. The Acta Ophthalmologica honourary lecture will be given by Professor Anders Heijl and we presume he will discuss important issues in glaucoma. Experts in all of the Nordic Countries have organized symposia with outstanding Nordic and international speakers in all fields of ophthalmology including vitreoretinal surgery, dislocated lenses, strabismus, exfoliation glaucoma, tumours in the lacrimal system, age-related macular degeneration, retinal imaging, corneal cross linking, glaucoma surgery, retinopathy of prematurity, optic neuritis, cataract surgery, paediatric uveitis, ocular oncology, neovascular AMD, glaucoma physiology, keratoconus, congenital cataracts, lens opacities, uveitis, imaging in glaucoma and clinical physiological examinations, eye banking and corneal bio-engineering, orbital diseases, glaucoma perimetry, retinitis pigmentosa, glaucoma management, oxygen physiology, corneal grafting, diabetic retinopathy and rehabilitation after stroke. The preliminary program is seen on the next page. It is not only the volcanic eruptions and the scientific program that should encourage you to come to Reykjavik this summer. As you may recall from 2000, even strong earthquakes do not cause any collapses in Iceland. Our houses are strongly built and do not collapse even in strong earthquakes. The same cannot be said for our banks, which indeed have collapsed and along with it the value of the Icelandic Krona. This means that you get more than twice as much for your Danish, Swedish or Norwegian Krona or Euro compared to last time which means that prices in Iceland have gone from being ridiculously expensive to being quite reasonable or even cheap. At the same time it must be stated that there is no collapse in Icelandic society. The economy is humming along nicely, all services are in place and indeed tourism is thriving better than ever. We look forward to seeing you in Reykjavik on August 4–7, 2010. Some of you may want to stay for the ARVO summer meeting on diabetic retinopathy a week later and I hope many of you will use the opportunity to bring your families and enjoy a wonderful summer in Iceland and a spectacular volcanic eruption. Happy summer.