Dear Friends and Colleagues,
On behalf of the SIOP Board of Directors, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to our 54th Annual SIOP Congress that will take place in Barcelona, Spain, from September 28-October 1, 2022. Building on the excellent experience in the past 2 years offering virtual Congresses due to COVID-19, the Board intends that the 2022 SIOP Congress will be the Society’s first hybrid Congress, offering some sessions for access virtually. Despite the early signs that the COVID-19 pandemic can be brought under control, access to vaccination is not yet equitable across the world and the emergence of viral variants continues to impose travel restrictions and workforce pressures. For these reasons, we will make best efforts to offer the 2022 Congress as a hybrid event.
We have all learnt new ways to interact and network during the past year. The SIOP 2022 congress will be the place to hear the latest research findings in our field and to catalyse new ideas, generated by the multi-disciplinary attendance for which we are renowned. Furthermore, the pre-Congress Educational Day, with parallel sessions organised by the Local Organising Committee, the Young SIOP Network, Nursing Network, Paediatric Psycho-oncology Network and the Global Health Network provides an excellent forum to meet with your peers and hear about opportunities for networking and collaboration. Dr. Lillian Sung, who leads the SIOP Scientific Committee, has prepared an innovative Programme of exceptional speakers and symposium topics that will appeal to you all.
This year’s Congress will build on our successful experience in 2020 and 2021, where we saw a great increase in total delegates from 134 countries and a doubling of the proportion attending from low- and middle-income countries. In 2021, the virtual Congress platform was even better than last year’s, with more rapid access to ‘on demand’ viewing and greater interactivity. This will increase the accessibility of the Congress content and enhance dissemination of your research to the global cancer community. Remember that the Congress content remains accessible online for all delegates at the same Congress platform for 3 months after the end of the Congress and will then be made permanently available on the SIOP Knowledge Centre for our members.
The SIOP Board of Directors acknowledges the tremendous support that we have received from the intended host cities of our Congresses in 2020 (Ottawa) and 2021 (Honolulu). Their flexibility means that we can plan to return in person to Ottawa in 2023 and to Honolulu in 2024.
The SIOP Congresses provide a wonderful platform on which to present your own research and share knowledge and ideas. Together, we can accelerate efforts to improve cancer survival and quality of survival for children and young people all over the world.
See you in Barcelona at SIOP 2022!
Kathy Pritchard-Jones, SIOP President
