Dear EPOS Members, Dear Paediatric Orthopaedic Community,

It is both an honour and a privilege to serve as the 31st President of EPOS. I sincerely thank you for the trust you have placed in me to advance our society, alongside my presidential line colleagues, Dror Ovadia, Ralph Sakkers, and our past president, Hakan Ömeroğlu. Under his inspiring leadership, we developed a SWOT analysis, which now serves as our strategic framework (Strategic Plan 2024-2028) to ensure the sustainability of our society.

Our priorities are as follows:

Establishing Our Own Central Office:
After many years of being contractually bound to EFORT, we will mark 1st September 2024 as our historic independence day. Our new office will be led by Ms. Ceylan Tokgöz, EPOS Association Director, and Ms. Sanni Hiltunen, EPOS Education & Business Development Director.
 

Strengthening Connections with National Societies:
We are focusing on developing a core curriculum to standardise paediatric orthopaedic training across Europe. This initiative aims to reinforce our specialty and enhance its appeal to the next generation of surgeons. We are currently halfway through a survey among leaders of national societies, which indicates that paediatric orthopaedics is often integrated into a general orthopaedic curriculum rather than being recognised as a distinct speciality. With healthcare resources becoming increasingly constrained, there is a risk that paediatric orthopaedics may be absorbed by adult departments, reduced, or abandoned. To address this, we will continue our campaign with a task force comprising national representatives and EPOS leadership.

The combined EPOSNA Meeting (8th-11th May 2024, Washington, DC) was a tremendous success, offering high-quality scientific content and ample opportunities for networking at the splendid Gaylord Convention Centre.

Please mark your calendars and register for the 43rd EPOS Annual Meeting in Toulouse, France, from Wednesday, 2nd April to Friday, 4th April 2025 (EPOS 2025).

Yours sincerely,

Prof. Carol-C. Hasler
EPOS President (2024-2025)