History
AO MID - Building the New Harmony
Portoroz 2005 – Presentation of letter of intention
Everybody knows that proverbs, which are present in every nation and
culture, often contain a profound wisdom. There is a Polish proverb:
"Harmony builds, discord ruins.". Our history confirms this truth.
Everything started in 2005 in Portoroz, when representatives of Slovenia,
Israel, Turkey, Hungary, and Poland signed a letter of
intent to the AO/ASIF proposing the creation of new AO region. We wanted to
create a union of countries with similar economies, clinical experience, and
political conditions in order to facilitate scientific exchanges, make access
to AO's philosophy and courses easier, and share our experience among ourselves
and with other countries. We wanted to affirm our potential in order to be
recognized as equal and rightful members of the AO Family. The idea of creating
a new region met with great enthusiasm, from other European countries as well
as from representatives of AO Education and AO as a whole. Soon other countries
interested in the idea of regional cooperation joined the core group of
signatories to the letter of intent.
From the very beginning we knew that we would have a lot of work to
do.European countries are much more diverse than countries in Latin America or
North America. We have different cultures, languages (even alphabets), and
religions, and sometimes a cruel and painful history behind us. We spent many
hours in discussions, organized and held many meetings, and sent many letters
to set up the rules of cooperation. Finally we decided to call ourselves AO MID
Region. What does MID stand for? It stands, first, for Middle Europe, but it is
also a reference to the Mediterranean Sea - the cradle of European culture and
civilisation. We are an open group and we do not want to be recognized only as
a union of countries from Middle Europe.
From the moment the idea of AO MID Region was born, we got strong support
from AO/ASIF in organizing upcoming regional courses and other events. We were
also lucky in that we had great leaders - Dr. Andrej Ales from Slovenia and Dr.
Rami Mosheiff from Israel. We didn't waste any time, but constantly improved
our courses, corrected mistakes, and worked to create a spirit of cooperation
that was acceptable to everyone and to bring about as many benefits as
possible. Our efforts were appreciated by other countries and now, after our
last meeting in Thessaloniki, in April 2008, there are 15 countries either
already united in AO MID or applying for membership.
After three years of cooperation we can say that in a sense we are already
successful. During the Regional Course in Anthalya in 2007 the faculty was made
up entirely of lecturers and instructors from countries united in AO MID. We
had some guest lecturers, of course, but the core of our faculty was from the
Region. The course was highly rated by participants.
Between the regional courses we also organized three "Tips for
Trainers" courses, in Budapest, Istanbul and Cracow. Thanks to that
regional course in Thessaloniki, over 80% of faculty attended the Tips for
Trainers course. It, too, was very highly rated. The high level of the regional
courses and the great needs of countries united in AO MID led to a proposal
that we organize a regional course twice a year. We accepted that proposal with
great satisfaction and joy.
During the meeting in Thessaloniki we took additional steps to improve our
Cooperation and to be recognized as a real AO Region. We drafted and accepted
our bylaws,regulating the relationships between members of AO MID and
establishing the rules of cooperation. This extensive document covers most if
not all of the possible issues and problems we may face in our future. We also
established structures that will make our cooperation more effective and
orderly. Finally, we established a board of directors and committees for
science and education.
Countries united in AO MID were not focused only on organizing courses and
the structures of our union. We also increased our scientific activity and
exchanges. For example, the software for pre-operating planning in pelvic
surgery created in Lubljana (Slovenia) is accessible to everyone, and
facilitates the process of decision-making in most difficult cases. Discussion
of difficult cases via the net in order to find the best solution has also
become a kind of tradition for us.
Why do we think that we are already successful, in a sense? It is true that
we did not yet reach our main aim, which is to be recognized as an official AO
Region. But we have proved that cooperation among different countries and
nations is possible and leads to excellent results. We proved that members of
AO MID can create a valuable faculty for many different AO events. We created
apositive, effective movement whose contributions and benefits are already
apparent.
What are the roots of our success? From the moment we sent the letter of
intent we had a strong feeling that we were participating in something
exceptional and particularly good. We built our cooperation first of all on
personal relationships, on respect and friendship. It is a great experience to
observe a serious scientific event like the AO Regional Course in which the
atmosphere has the feeling of a family meeting. Another reason for our success
is the exceptional enthusiasm of people engaged in our regional activity. The
third reason is the great, reliable work of so many people in AO MID.
What about the future? There are a lot of plans for the months and years
ahead. We do not want to restrict ourselves only to organizing courses. We are
going to organize our web site to facilitate communication between members of
AO MID. We are planning an exchange of residents within the region. We are
going to lead multi-centered clinical trials. We need to create an archive of
our course presentations and publications written by members of AO MID. The
region will also coordinate and support any scientific events by AO in all
countries.
Three years ago we started to build with harmony. To date, we have been
successful. We will do our best to maintain this harmony, because it is the
only way for the future.
We do believe that our recognition as an official AO region is only a matter
of time.
Jarek Brudnicki MD, PhD Poland
Porto Karras 2008 – AO MID general Assembly
