It is an honor and a privilege to serve as President of the World Endoscopy Organization for the 2026–2028 term. I assume this responsibility with deep gratitude and a commitment to working together across our global community.
As the global home of endoscopy, WEO brings together regional societies, national associations, healthcare professionals, educators, industry partners, and trainees from every continent. This diversity is at the heart of who we are and what makes WEO a truly global community.
Building on the strong foundations laid by my predecessors and on programs such as WISE, Emerging Stars, and our Centers of Excellence, over the next two years WEO will focus on three priorities that will guide our work:
Connect: We will strengthen collaboration across our global community, creating new opportunities for societies, institutions, and individuals to share expertise, innovation, and leadership. Connection means more than communication. It means building a global network where every region has a voice, every society has a role, and every professional can contribute. Our mission is to connect the world of endoscopy through action — where it is practiced, and where it still needs to reach.
Train: Knowledge only gains its true value when it is shared. Education remains at the heart of WEO's mission. We will expand access to high-quality training, support the next generation of endoscopists, and help make world-class educational resources available regardless of geography, language, or economic barriers. A key component of this effort will be WEO-GUIDE (Global Unified Information and Digital Education), a multilingual, AI-enabled educational platform that will unite WEO resources and rigorously validated content and guidelines from endoscopy societies around the world. Through this initiative, we aim to make trusted knowledge more accessible and more impactful for professionals everywhere. Because innovation only matters when it serves people.
Care: Everything we do must ultimately serve the patient. Our commitment also extends to the colleagues and teams who care for them. WEO must keep us united through science, solidarity, and a shared sense of humanity.
Equity across everything we do: Connect, Train, and Care are not separate goals. They are connected by the single commitment of equity. Equity begins with something fundamental: recognizing that we are equals — equal in dignity, equal in responsibility, equal in our commitment to patients.
It means learning from one another and sharing knowledge and experience so every region can grow, contribute, and lead.
Introducing World Endoscopy Day: a global movement
A flagship initiative closely aligned with our Care priority is the launch of World Endoscopy Day, which will be celebrated annually beginning on 15 May 2027. The date commemorates the historic 1962 decision in Munich, to establish an independent international society of endoscopy, the beginning of a journey that evolved from ISE (International Society of Endoscopy) to OMED (Organisation Mondiale d'Endoscopie Digestive) and ultimately to WEO. It will bring our global community together to celebrate our profession, recognize our teams, raise public awareness, and reaffirm our shared commitment to the people we serve.
It is our day. World Endoscopy Day. WE Day.
I hope that Connect, Train and Care will become part of our shared identity, so that two years from now, when we look back and ask ourselves: Did our work contribute, even in a small way, to better care for patients and for our colleagues around the world? — we can answer together, with pride: Yes.
Let us begin this journey together, from Cape Town to Panama, where we will meet again at ENDO 2028.
The best is yet to come.
Dr. Asadur Jorge Tchekmedyian
President, World Endoscopy Organization (WEO)
2026–2028
