The EVRS philosophy will guide the meeting throughout. In contrast to many other congresses, EVRS has decided not to allow any presentations created by the industry, the only exception being special and clearly designated industry symposia. This point was discussed extensively at the 2013 congress in Rhodes. In spite of the fact that this clear insistence on independence from the industry is costing EVRS an enormous amount of money in sponsorships, it was felt among an overwhelming majority of EVRS members that autonomy should be valued vastly higher than any financial advantages.
As a result, in Porto we will not have to listen to a seemingly endless series of presentations devoted to yet another study on yet another aspect of yet another intravitreal medication – standard fare at many international congresses these days. Luckily this will free an enormous amount of time to hear presentations by our members describing their very unique and individual way of doing things.
The congress philosophy
EVRS is a teaching society with the main objective of knowledge sharing. It is not only, like other European societies, a “one-congress-per-year-society” with the sole goal of giving a large audience to invited guests in order to promote them. This is why EVRS developed on its website a large part (Share your Experience) dedicated to knowledge sharing.
The aim of EVRS congresses is to gather together a large number of specialists in order to raise and discuss, on one specific subject each year, the different therapeutic concepts existing in Europe as this is the richness of Europe. Each team will have the time to explain their modus operandi and, above all, the philosophical and the practical reason of their choices.
In this way, each participant will have the chance to access the options and point out the technique that he judges to be the best one or the most adapted to his practice.
The objective of congresses is then not to reproduce what is already available but to fulfil a lack of real teaching. This is the reason why the EVRS congresses have to be different in the form and content, particularly with: