2024 has indeed been another exciting year for our society.
The World Endoscopy Organization (WEO) has demonstrated yet again a strong commitment to advancing the promotion and education for high-quality endoscopy across all the zones of our society. Throughout the year, our initiatives were delivered through a variety of formats, including online, in-person, and hybrid events, ensuring accessibility and engagement for a diverse audience of healthcare professionals.
The highlight was of course the successful realization of the fourth ENDO conference in Seoul in July, hosting more than 3200 participants from 82 countries around the world. The event was a resounding success thanks to the tireless efforts of the whole team, spearheaded by Professor Hisao Tajiri as WEO President and Prof. Jean-Francois Rey as Chair of the Steering Committee. The ENDO meeting serves multiple purposes. It delivers world-class teaching, training, and scientific innovations to our endoscopy community. Extensive hands-on training offers valuable exposure to a variety of techniques and accessories, as well as close-up encounters with world-class teachers. The event also offers a unique companion to all our online educational activities, allowing invaluable networking for colleagues across the world. This facilitates the establishment of connections that could never happen on an online platform and arguably represents the single most notably unique utility of such congresses. Finally, the multitude of industry exhibitions facilitates an opportunity for our sponsors to connect directly with gastroenterologists and endoscopists across the world. The lively activity in the exhibition hall told me that important information flowed both ways at the various booths.
Given the increasing focus and effort towards democratization of access to GI endoscopy, WEO has expanded its efforts towards training and endoscopy facilitation in underserved areas, in South America, in South-East Asia, and extensively in sub-Saharan Africa, building on an increasing number of official WEO training centers across the region. After the release from Covid restrictions, this work has gained traction, and we hope to see even more activities to this effect in the years to come. While cutting-edge endoscopy continues to develop in the first world, the potential for improvement and valuable outcomes may be even more tangible in other regions, and it is an explicit ambition of WEO during the next two years to maintain and increase this spotlight. The decision to organize ENDO 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa, in conjunction with the South African societies, SAGES, SASES, and ASSA (South African Gastroenterology Society, South African Society of Endoscopic Surgeons, Association of Surgeons of South Africa), represents a strong signal to this effect, and I do hope that our colleagues around the world, as well as our industry partners, will join forces to support this initiative.
That also gives me the opportunity to wholeheartedly thank our industry partners for their ongoing and invaluable collaboration. Our activities cannot happen without their support, and I do hope that that the educational efforts of WEO are seen as a meaningful activity and a valuable way to ensure appropriate utilization of their equipment.
Moving ahead, we aim to maintain this strong collaboration with existing partners both in science and within industry. We also realize that our friends in China increasingly aim to engage in the international endoscopy world. We are very happy to help facilitate this process and see our colleagues and supporters from China connect even more strongly to the rest of the global community of Endoscopy.
Below is a list of all the activities that have been happening throughout 2024. To me, it shows an extensive, as well as a widely diverse range of activities, and we surely aim to maintain such a profile also moving on to 2025.
A very Happy New Year to all our friends, colleagues, and supporters around the world.
The Promoting Best Standards of Practice Series of educational broadcasts included four webinars organized by the WEO Standards of Practice Committee 2024.
Video Capsule Endoscopy Network (VCEN) 2024: Launched this year, the program developed by Jean-Francois Rey, featured three webinars from March to October, culminating in the WEO Capsule Endoscopy Global Summit on November 30 in Chongquing, China, with Lars Aabakken as conference president.
A VCE session and hands-on training was organized at ENDO 2024.
WEO International School of EUS (WISE) 2024: Conducted five online modules from March to November, with the Egyptian Chapter held in May and October.
Advanced Diagnosis Endoscopy Courses (ADECs) were organized at ENDO 2024 in Seoul, South Korea and at the Asian Pacific Digestive Week (APDW) 2024 on November 21, 2024.
High-Q Upper GI: This event took place on March 16 during the International Congress of Endoscopy in Colombia.
Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening Committee initiatives: Included a session at ESGE Days in Berlin (April), a full day meeting at DDW Week in Chicago (May), another full day meeting at UEG Week in Vienna (October), and a session at APDW in Bali (November).
The third group of WEO Emerging Stars came together on September 29 in Cairo, Egypt, for the third and final course of this successful program.
Outreach activities
Africa: Site visits for new training centers in Dakar, Senegal and Accra Ghana. Training courses in Addis, Ethiopia and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
Latin America: Basic Therapeutic Endoscopy courses: Held for young doctors in Argentina (April 4–5), Brazil (June 26–29), and Chile (November 25).
South-East Asia: Activities are being conducted through the Thai Association for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (TAGE) network.
Hands-on workshops:
– Endoscopy nurses, Vientiane, Laos (January 29)
– EGD and colonoscopy, Vientiane, Laos (January 30–31)
– Basic EUS, Ubon Rachathani, Thailand (March 25–26)
– ESD, EMR, EUS, ERCP model workshop, live demonstration, and didactic lectures, Bangkok, Thailand (August 9–10)
– EGD, variceal band ligation, colonoscopy, cold snare polypectomy, Vientaine, Laos (August 30)
– Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty, Bangkok, Thailand (November 27–28)
– EUS, Bangkok, Thailand (December 4–5).
Hands-on workshops through TAGE and A-PSDE collaboration:
– EUS and ERCP, Cambodia (April 25–26)
– iEUS & ERCP, Indonesia (June 24–28), EUS & ERCP, Hue, Vietnam (July 12–13)
– ESD & POEM, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (September 9–10)
– Colonoscopy, Cambodia (October 3–4).
Fellowship programs
Advanced Endoscopy Fellowship Program: Continued to welcome trainees at centers in China, supporting professional development.
Pilot fellowship programs in select centers in India, primarily directed towards vetted trainees from Africa.
Collaborative events
Joint Symposium at DDW, Washington, May 2024: Outreach session co-organized with ASGE (American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy), chaired by Lars Aabakken and Kulwinder Dua
Special Lecture by Professor Hisao Tajiri: Delivered at the Digestive Cancer and Digestive Disease Forum in Guiyang, China (July 19–21). This event was attended by over 380 experts and featured 30 live demonstrations.
Joint Symposiums at APDW, November 2024: Featured discussions on advanced diagnosis, CRC screening, and the impact of artificial intelligence in endoscopy.
Sociedade Brasileira de Endoscopia Digestiva (SOBED)-WEO Online Symposium, November 2024: Focus on the future directions of endoscopy.
ENDO Fest 2024, presented by SIED, was a special Christmas gift to all societies across the Americas. This online event featured video presentations streamed from the HUB at the National Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, and included an open lecture by Dr. Lars Aabakken, the president of WEO. A short video of the event can be viewed here.
Publications
• Professors Yutaka Saito and Daniel von Renteln, together with the members of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Polyp Detection, Characterization, Resection and AI Expert Working Group published a paper titled “International consensus on the management of large (≥20 mm) colorectal laterally spreading tumors: World Endoscopy Organization Delphi study” in DEN.
Djinbachian R, Rex DK, Chiu H-M et al. Dig Endosc 2024; 36: 1253–1268. doi: 10.1111/den.14826
• Professors Graeme Young and Robert Bresalier together with a group of CRC SC New Test Expert Working Group members published an article titled ” Fecal Immunochemical Test Positivity Thresholds: An International Survey of Population-Based Screening Programs” in Digestive Diseases and Sciences.
Young GP, Benton SC, BresalierRS et al. Dig Dis Sci 2024 Nov 11. doi: 10.1007/s10620-024-08664-7
New CORE Members
WEO recognized the following units as new Collaboration of Organized and Recognized Endoscopy (CORE) members in 2024:
• Gastrohub Hospital, Gastrohub Endoscopy – Maharashtra, India
• Noble Gastro and Liver Hospital – Gujarat, India
• Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Department of Gastroenterology – Gurugram, India.
In addition to all the activities listed above, WEO endorsed 14 educational events around the world and was an exhibitor at four congresses: ESGE Days 2024, DDW 2024, UEG Week 2024, and ADPW 2024.
