Welcome
It gives us great pleasure to invite you to the 55th Annual Meeting of the Scandinavian Association for Thoracic Surgery and the 26th Annual Meeting of the Scandinavian Society for Extracorporeal Technology, to be held in Reykjavík from 16 to 19 August 2006.
Iceland is the “land of ice and fire”, and we recommend – to all those of you who can – that you use this opportunity to explore the country before or after the meeting. The travel agency, which is helping us to organise the event, is happy to assist in planning short or longer tours in conjunction with the meeting.
The meeting starts on Wednesday afternoon and ends on the following Friday evening. The Saturday thereafter, 20 August, is the day of Reykjavík’s “Cultural Night”, when city is brimming with culture, fun and excitement. Participants will be encouraged to enjoy Reykjavík that day and into the night. For those of you who are more athletically minded, August 20th is also the day of the “Reykjavik Marathon”.
We plan on starting with a get-together party on Wednesday evening, at a very unusual place just a short coach ride away, and return participants to their hotels or into downtown Reykjavík after the party.
Thursday will be a full Conference day, from morning to evening, emphasising the main topics in the morning, The Future of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and Perfusion from a broad perspective. The core of this section of the Conference will consist of guest lecturers from various countries. After lunch there will be time for free papers, oral presentations and posters.
In the evening there will be a reception hosted by the City of Reykjavík and the evening will be free after about 20:30.
Friday will be a full Conference day, with free papers, oral presentations and poster sessions. The Board meeting will be scheduled for the end of the day rather than the lunch break, as otherwise it would conflict with the noon symposia which are planned for that time. We think it is important to give Board members the opportunity of participating in the noon symposia, which are anticipated to be of a high quality. The Conference will close on the evening of the Friday, with a dinner in the restaurant Perlan.
We can promise you a good, instructive and rewarding meeting, where we can exchange views on day-to-day problems in cardiothoracic surgery. The meeting is a forum for scientists to introduce new knowledge and receive constructive feedback from colleagues and friends. Many guest speakers will address topical issues within our dynamic and important field. Handsome corporate support is a prerequisite for meetings of this kind to achieve their purpose, and we thank the companies that have pledged their support for a successful partnership and excellent co-operation. This year surgical nurses will also be participating and they will have a separate session, as they did last year in Bergen.
Dear colleagues, members and non-members, residents, nurses, students, corporate representatives, distinguished guests and friends. We welcome you to the next SATS/SCANSECT meeting in Reykjavík in August 2006, and we look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.
Bjarni TorfasonSATS Congress president |
Líney SímonardóttirSCANSECT Congress president |