This spring, the World Endoscopy Organization took part in two major international congresses: Digestive Disease Week (DDW) in Chicago and the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy’s ESGE Days in Milan. Both meetings were excellent opportunities to share ideas and strengthen collaboration across the global endoscopy community.
Overall, both events were very successful for WEO — with considerable interest at our booth, active participation in our sessions, and many valuable conversations throughout the meetings.
DDW 2026 – Chicago
At Digestive Disease Week 2026 in Chicago, the WEO booth was a busy place where many participants stopped by to learn more about our educational courses and upcoming opportunities. It was a great space for discussions with clinicians, researchers, and trainees from around the world.
One of the highlights was the joint American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE)–WEO session on whether guidelines developed in high-resource settings can be applied globally. The discussion was lively and covered important areas such as colon EMR and polypectomy, biliary strictures, Barrett’s esophagus, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in endoscopy.
In addition, the Colorectal Cancer Screening Committee (CRC SC) meeting brought together 155 experts for a stimulating exchange on current practices and future directions in colorectal cancer screening. The strong in-person participation and open discussions made it a very productive meeting.
ESGE Days 2026 – Milan
Shortly after DDW, WEO joined ESGE Days 2026 in Milan, where we also had a very active booth. Many attendees visited us to explore WEO courses, membership options, professional pathways, and our upcoming ENDO 2026 Congress in Cape Town.
The booth also became a place for interaction and engagement, including a social media activity where participants could win free ENDO 2026 registration. We are delighted to congratulate the winners and thank everyone who took part — all eligible participants will also receive a 25% discount on WEO membership.
We also gathered valuable insights from attendees on the future of endoscopy, with key themes including access to training, wider availability of advanced procedures, patient safety, and the growing impact of artificial intelligence.
ESGE Days also gave us the chance to reconnect with our WEO community at an informal alumni gathering in Milan. It was a warm and relaxed evening with WISE and Emerging Stars alumni, faculty, and industry partners — a reminder that WEO is built not only on education, but also on long-term relationships and shared journeys.
We would like to thank everyone who visited our booth, joined our sessions, and contributed to the discussions. We look forward to continuing these conversations and welcoming many of you at upcoming WEO events, including ENDO 2026 in Cape Town.
