Let me begin with a sincere thank you to the staff and leadership of WEO, who have all made a great effort in welcoming me to the organization! Starting my journey at the beginning of last month, I hit the ground running so to speak. As soon as I set foot in the door, I was struck by the dedicated energy that so well permeates the world of not-for-profit organizations. And now having settled in somewhat, it is a true pleasure to see the commitment and enthusiasm of the team at the WEO office. So, dear readers, for those of you who have not yet been in contact with one or more members of the WEO team, let me briefly introduce them to you:
• Ruth Bucksch organizes many different projects, and as the longest-serving team member brings past experience to our present and future WEO activities.
• Laura Schleser-Low manages the WEO International School of EUS (WISE) meetings, whilst building long-term relationships in the far east and operating as industry liaison and as fundraiser for the ENDO conferences.
• Anastasiia Lukashevych covers all the organizational and logistical aspects relating to the forthcoming ENDO 2024 congress in Seoul.
• Ajlana Osmanagic focuses on the Colorectal Cancer Screening Committee (CRC SC) meetings, as well as on the activities of many other WEO committees. In addition, she manages communications, such as this newsletter, the website, and the WEO presence at international meetings, in cooperation with Mizuki.
• Mizuki Otsubo, who also provides support to many WEO committees, such as the Education Committee, and manages the WEO individual membership and the Collaboration of Organized and Recognized Endoscopy (CORE) units group. As mentioned, she works together with Ajlana on the overall communication of WEO to the wider endoscopy community.
My colleagues do a wonderful job and I am very happy to be able to work with them in supporting the current and future activities of WEO. As I write this, the ESGE Days conference is around the corner, where of course many WEO activities will take place, and it will be a great opportunity for me to meet some of you in person. Not long after this, WEO will be actively present at DDW in Chicago, where again it will be my pleasure to become more familiar with the endoscopy community at large.
I wish to conclude with a special note of gratitude to Hilary Hamilton-Gibbs, who has worked so hard to support WEO in its development during the last years, and is now a great support to me in finding my way. I am very happy that she will remain as a consultant to WEO and the team for the near future.
Again, thank you all for the warm welcome and please feel free to reach to me at michel.n@worldendo.org.
