The 11th EAPC World Research Congress 2020 is moving Online
A message from the President of the European Association for Palliative Care and Co-chairs of the Scientific Committee of the 11th EAPC World Research Congress 2020 Online : Christoph Ostgathe, Sebastiano Mercadante, Augusto Caraceni and Marie Fallon.
As we write this, we are acutely aware that due to the impact of the coronavirus many of our members and colleagues are working in challenging circumstances and we want to wish you all well. We know that many of you had very different plans for 14-16th May when we were expecting to see you in person at the 11th World Research Congress in beautiful Palermo, Italy.
After much deliberation and discussion, we are delighted to let you know that you will not have to miss any part of the programme that was planned for the Palermo congress. For the first time in our history, the EAPC congress will be available online. The 11th EAPC World Research Congress Online will take place in the autumn of 2020. In order to ensure no further postponements, the congress will now take place in a purpose-built Online Congress platform accessible to all delegates from wherever they live across the globe. Speakers and abstract authors will be able to share and debate their research findings with other researchers, academics, clinicians and other key colleagues in a timely manner to maximise the impact of their work and inform further research.
In conjunction with a professional online congress organiser, the EAPC is developing a purpose-built Online Congress with all the same content that you expect from an EAPC Research Congress. All of our invited speakers have been asked to pre-record their presentations and these will remain available to view for the duration of the online congress and for 12 weeks after the event. The online platform also enables participants to ask questions of, and engage in discussion with, invited speakers during live Q&A chats, which will be moderated by an appointed chair on the 8th and 9th of October 2020. Recordings of plenary sessions Q&As will also be available to view later.
New online format enables you to watch all the parallel sessions…
All of the invited speakers, oral abstract presenters and accepted poster abstract submitters have been invited to share their research at the rescheduled event. In addition we will be putting out a call for late-breaking abstracts related to the palliative care response to the COVID-19 pandemic, further details will follow. As always, there will be a published abstract book and a detailed programme to guide delegates through the congress. This online format means you will no longer miss any of the parallel presentations that may have previously been running concurrently on the programme. Moreover, you can watch recorded presentations and browse the posters at a time that suits you.
In these unprecedented times, like many other organisations, the EAPC has been adversely impacted by the unexpected arrival of the coronavirus. We rely heavily on our congresses for our sustainability. We really hope that you will be happy with this solution of ensuring that the whole congress will go ahead and that the EAPC will be able to continue working as a strong voice in palliative care in Europe. We would like to thank the Scientific Committee for their work on the programme and also for their flexibility in embracing this new format for the congress. This will ensure that the programme they helped to develop is brought to fruition.
The EAPC World Research Congress always offers the opportunity to showcase world experts in palliative care and their research. Global interest in research in palliative care is increasing and now, more than ever, during these strange times, the coronavirus and its serious consequences have led to both challenges and opportunities for the palliative care community. The work of our small speciality has been highlighted in the management of patients with advanced COVID-19.
As for previous EAPC congresses, we plan to publish a selection of posts from plenary speakers ahead of the 11th EAPC World Congress 2020 Online – keep tuned to www.eapcnet.wordpress.com for some stimulating content.
By the time our first ever online congress goes live in October, we hope that you all have time to participate, no matter where in the world you are. We look forward to welcoming you to the 11th EAPC World Research Congress 2020 Online.
If you are not registered for the congress we are pleased to let you know that registration has reopened and we have reinstated our Early Bird rates. All delegates who are registered for the congress will receive a €100 discount voucher towards registration for either the 2021 or 2022 EAPC congress. Your personal voucher will be contained within a ‘Virtual Goodie Bag’ together with some other fantastic offers and vouchers provided by our sponsors.
