Executive Committee

• Prof. Stefan Seregard
  SOE President
• Prof. Thomas Fenech
  SOE Secretary General
• Prof. Fridbert Jonasson
  SOE Treasurer
• Prof. Gabriel van Rij
  SOE Immediate Past President

Board

• Guenter Grabner
  AUSTRIA
• Ludmila Dravitsa
  BELARUS
• Philippe Kestelyn
  BELGIUM
• Amila Alikadic-Husovic
  BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
• Toscho Voychev-Mitov
  BULGARIA
• Zdravko Mandic
  CROATIA
• Pavel Rozsival
  CZECH REPUBLIC
• Jan Ulrik Prause
  DENMARK
• Artur Klett
  ESTONIA
• Hannu Uusitalo
  FINLAND
• Gilles Renard
  FRANCE
• Mikheil Omiadze
  GEORGIA
• Anselm Kampik
  GERMANY
• Elias Feretis
  GREECE
• Andras Berta
  HUNGARY
• Fridbert Jonasson
  ICELAND
• Philip E. Cleary
  IRELAND
• Matteo Piovella
  ITALY
• Guna Laganovska
  LATVIA
• Ingrida Januleviciene
  LITHUANIA
• Vesna Dimovska
  F.Y.R. MACEDONIA
• Thomas Fenech
  MALTA
• Eugen Bendelic
  MOLDOVA
• Dr Antoaneta Adzic Zecevic
  MONTENEGRO
• Bente Haughom
  NORWAY
• Wanda Romaniuk
  POLAND
• Antonio Castanheira -Dinis
  PORTUGAL
• Dorin Chiselita
  ROMANIA
• Dmitry Maychuk
  RUSSIA
• Ivan Stefanovic
  SERBIA
•  New Member
  SLOVAKIA
• Marko Hawlina
  SLOVENIA
• Miguel Zato
  SPAIN
• Stefan Seregard
  SWEDEN
• Ivan Haefliger
  SWITZERLAND
• Tjeerd De Faber
  THE NETHERLANDS
• Berati Hasanreisoglu
  TURKEY
• George Turner
  UNITED KINGDOM
• Nadiya Bobrova
  UKRAINE

Associated Members

• Anat Loewenstein
  ISRAEL
• Tharwat Hasanin Mokbel
  EGYPT
• Issam Albateineh
  JORDAN

Honorary Council Members

• Hans Slezak, Austria
• Tamara Birich, Belarus
• Micheline Spiritus, Belgium
• Luc Missotten, Belgium
• Amila Alikadic Husovic, Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Wesselin Tanev, Bulgaria
• Nikica Gabric, Croatia
• Ljerka Henc-Petrinovic, Croatia
• Pavel Kuchynka, Czech Republic
• Ernst Goldschmidt, Denmark
• Pait Teesalu, Estonia
• Leila Laatikainen, Finland
• Ahti Tarkkanen, Finland
• Jean-Paul Adenis, France
• Iva Beradze, Georgia
• Michael Foerster, Germany
• Martin Reim, Germany
• Manfred Tost, Germany
• Ioannis Pallikaris, Greece
• George Theodossiadis, Greece
• Piroska Follmann, Hungary
• Ildiko Suveges, Hungary
• Philip E Cleary, Ireland
• Peter Eustace, Ireland
• Rosario Brancato, Italy
• Giuseppe Scuderi, Italy
• Ayman Mdanat, Jordan
• Guna Laganovska, Latvia
• Alvydas Paunksnis, Lithuania
• Snezana Bosnakovska, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
• Johan Harald Seland, Norway
• Jozef Kaluzny, Poland
• Tadeusz Kecik, Poland
• Joao Ribeiro da-Silva, Portugal
• Dorin Chiselita, Romania
• Yury Kalinnikov, Russia
• Zinaida Ivanovna Moroz, Russia
• Slobodan Golubovic, Serbia Herzegovina
• Andrej Cernak, Slovakia
• Juan Murube Del Castillo, Spain
• Erik Linner, Sweden
• Bo Philipson, Sweden
• Rudolf Klöti, Switzerland
• Fritz Körner, Switzerland
• Jendo Oosterhuis, The Netherlands
• Demir Basar, Turkey
• Alistair Fielder, United Kingdom
• Zdenek Gregor, United Kingdom

Statutes

For SOE Statutes click here

History

Zdenek J. Gregor, FRCS, FRCOphth.
 Past President of SOE

Background

SOE was founded in 1956 as The Societas Ophthalmologica Europea (SOE), with the aim “to promote ophthalmology in Europe and to stimulate co-operation between European ophthalmologists and between their National Societies”. A Latin name was chosen by our founding fathers to emphasize its supranational nature, an important issue in post-war Europe. Over the past 50 years, SOE has grown from a relatively small society into a conglomerate of the national ophthalmological societies of all the 40 European countries, representing more than 40,000 European ophthalmologists.
Society’s mission 
While the original aims remain relevant, today’s Society’s mission is to become the central point of European Ophthalmology primarily through education but also by fostering closer collaboration with Sub-specialty societies and Supranational organisations within Europe and beyond.

Education

SOE Congresses

The SOE Congress is held every two years when numerous symposia and courses are given by leading lecturers from Europe, the United States of America and elsewhere. The meetings reflect the multinational nature of Europe, which has more than 36 official languages but the entire programme of the SOE Congress is in English. Over the years, the SOE Congresses took place in different European cities, such as in Athens, Hamburg, Milan and most recently, in Amsterdam in 2009. The 50th anniversary of the founding of SOE was celebrated in 2007, in Vienna.

Continuing Medical Education (CME) Credits

Continuing medical education is an important issue both in Europe and in the US. The SOE Congresses are recognised for CME credits by all European countries and by ACCME in the United States.

Educational Grants

SOE is very conscious of the considerable variation in the resources available in the former communist countries of Eastern Europe. To redress this, SOE provides reduced congress registration fees for most East European ophthalmologists and each year, SOE offers Educational Travel Grants for East European ophthalmologists-in-training. These grants help such young doctors not just financially, but they open the doors to sub-specialist departments in all the major European centres.

European Leadership Development Programme (EuLDP)

Leadership skills are important for any ophthalmologist and in particular for those who are active in professional societies. Therefore, SOE has sponsored several European ophthalmologists to take part in the Leadership Development Programme organised by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. 
Recognising the complex nature of Europe, SOE has now set up its own EuLDP with the aim to identify future leaders of European Ophthalmology, to offer basic leadership training adapted for ophthalmology and to provide an informal network of peers.

EUPO

The Association of the European University Professors of Ophthalmology (EUPO) holds yearly courses for Residents and SOE actively supports these: on odd years, the EUPO courses take place during the SOE Congress (a popular event with everybody as it is also open to all registered Congress delegates). SOE also provides support for EUPO courses in-between its congresses.

Pan-European collaboration

Sub-speciality societies: SOE recognises the increasing tendency among European ophthalmologists to sub-specialise and has responded by inviting all the major Sub-specialty Societies to take part in the preparation of its Congresses, giving the delegates the benefit of the teaching and personal contact with the leaders in each branch of ophthalmology. The response from all the Sub-specialty Societies has been overwhelmingly positive.

Supranational organizations: In addition to its educational activities, SOE attaches a great importance to research and to training and examinations of young ophthalmologists and collaborates increasingly closely with the European Association for Vision and Eye Research (EVER) and the European Board of Ophthalmology (EBO).

Future

SOE is conscious of the rapidly changing situation in European Ophthalmology and recognises the many challenges facing ophthalmologists in every European country. SOE is ready to face these challenges but its success depends on the support of each and every ophthalmologist.

View history as a PDF

Future Visions

Check back for updated Future Visions.

Subspecialty Societies & Supranational Organisations