Dear Colleagues,

Planning for the 2021 IGCS Annual Global Meeting is underway, giving us an excellent opportunity to look ahead with optimism. While the meetings and conventions has transformed in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe the best approach to move forward is to be bold, see challenges as opportunities and work together to assemble an outstanding Congress.

Safety is of course our utmost priority and the IGCS team is working very closely with a local professional conference organizer, the venue, and the Italian government as rules and regulations are released for safe ways to gather with an abundancy of caution. We will keep you fully informed in the coming weeks and months and understand how this may affect the way you can register for the Congress.

We continue to be most appreciative to the local Italian societies, the Società Italiana di Oncologia Ginecologica (SIOG) and the Società Italiana di Ginecologia e Ostetrica (SIGO)  for their continued support and partnership in planning our meeting in Rome.

You can expect what you have come to know over the years from IGCS and our Congress, one that is filled with the latest education and advancements in gynecologic oncology. Engagement is major priority for Rome 2021 and understanding that not everyone will be able to travel to Rome we have found a unique way to disseminate our education globally without sacrificing personal interaction. With the virtual platform we will be using a “hub and spoke” approach that will allow us to broadcast from Rome as the hub, to many locations all over the globe creating the spokes. This is fulfilling our international educational mission.

We will be encouraging regional gatherings of delegates when conducive and identifying local key opinion leaders in each of these regions to interact with the speakers and moderators in Rome to provide a similar effect and impact as to being there in person. We are excited to share more on this exciting concept soon.

Abstract and surgical films are being accepted through May 12th and we welcome the opportunity to review your current research and work related to these topics and themes. Accepted abstracts will be assigned as oral presentations for the plenary sessions, oral posters, or e-posters. In 2020 our abstract poster hall was overwhelmingly popular, allowing for the learner to not only view the digital posters but listen to a short audio recording of the author describing their work. Throughout the duration of the meeting, the 450 digital posters were viewed over 4200 times.

We are cautiously optimistic about the opportunity to gather again and share with many of our international colleagues in this enthusiasm. We are confident that we can provide a safe environment for delegates to assemble in person and we are fully committed to utilize the latest in virtual meeting technology to connect with those of you who will be experiencing IGCS 2021 from afar.

Whether you join us at the central “hub” in Rome or participate from a “spoke” location somewhere globally, we hope you will join us in making big plans for IGCS 2021.

We hope to see you soon – or as they say in Rome, Arrivederci!

Ana Oaknin, MD, PhD
Spain

Matthew Powell, MD
USA