IPOPI XVI Global Patients Meeting – First ever online!
IPOPI had the great pleasure of welcoming 200 delegates from 40 countries from all over the world to the XVI Global Patients Meeting (GPM). The GPM is one of IPOPI’s key biennial events and is organised back to back with the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) and International Nursing Group for Immunodeficiencies (INGID) biennial congresses. The meeting was originally taking place in Birmingham, UK, but was moved online due to the concerning development of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this change of plans we were grateful for the opportunity to organise this virtually for the very first time and ensure that the PID patient community could continue to unite and grow stronger together.
Medical education and skills building
During this well attended meeting the participants were updated on the latest development for primary immunodeficiency (PID) by a range of PID experts. The interesting programme offered a wide selection of topics, with sessions such as Bad Bugs – Managing infections, Living life with PID: from childhood to ageing and PID crossovers. These medical lectures provided a good platform for discussions, with participants submitting a number of tricky questions for the speakers. The programme also offered 5 parallel interactive skill-building workshops, all connected to the umbrella topic of How to grow your NMO.
Luciano Vassalli and LeBien awards
The IPOPI members were also invited to participate in two sparkling award ceremonies where two people whose actions have contributed positively to the PID community were acknowledged. The Luciano Vassalli award is given to a young person who has made a difference for the PID community and this year the recipient was Magdalena Döragrip (PIO Sweden), for her outstanding work for PID patients in Sweden. The LeBien award on the other hand, honors an adult who has improved the conditions for PID patients internationally. This year this award was given to Professor Helen Chapel for her many years of tireless work and support for PID patients. We could not be happier with these two winners.
Annual General Assembly – New Executive Committee
On the 16 October the GPM hosted the Annual General Assembly, including a presentation of the results of the previously held electronic Board Election. The voting delegates had elected Mrs Cynthia Olotch (Kenya) and re-elected Mrs Roberta Anido de Pena (Argentina), Mr Andrea Gressani (Italy), Mr Bruce Lim (Malaysia), and Dr John Seymour (USA) as members of IPOPI’s Executive Committee.
The first ever virtual GPM 2020 was a great experience and we are already looking forward to the next one in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2022. We hope to see all our members then.
