President's letter

Dear ESPHI members,

I was honored by my colleagues participating in the Biannual Meeting of ESPHI in Budapest, May 2005, to undertake the presidency for the two coming years 2005-2007.

I recall my first participation in the meeting of the Society, in Turku, in 1978. As a paediatrician caring children with haemostasis disorders, I have attended closely the biannual meetings of the Society for the last two decades.

Professor Marodi, ex-president of the Society, organized a successful meeting in Budapest, in early May this year. He passed over the presidency to me, thus as the new president, I have the difficult task to maintain and improve the present status of ESPHI. To achieve this I have to put forward "approachable targets."

  • First of all, we have to strengthen the Society , by attracting new members, especially young investigators and clinicians. This can be achieved only with the hard work of each one of us in his own country.
  • Training programs should be revived for the haematologists and immunologists. These programs should also be extended to the developing world and Eastern European countries.
  • Haematological and immunological topics concerning everyday practice in General Paediatrics should also be included in the educational program
  • Revival of the Working Groups is an equally important issue. The wide spectrum of haematological or immunological disorders offers the opportunity for multicenter studies in several common or rare diseases, in order to reach the "medical truth" and produce reliable data.
  • We have to keep up with the publication of the newsletter, twice per year, and make it available online in our website.
  • During the general assembly at the Athens ESPHI meeting, we have to decide on the acceptance of Publisher's David Myers proposal to Professor Marodi, for affiliating with the "Journal Pediatric Hematology / Oncology"

Following the tradition, I have the hard task to organize the biannual ESPHI meeting 2007 in Athens, Greece. Ancient Greek civilization thrived around the Mediterranean sea from the 3d millennium to the 1st century BC, and it is well known for advances in philosophy, architecture, drama, science and democratic institutions. Athens, the capital of Greece is said to have derived its name from the Greek goddess Athena (goddess of wisdom). Pericles, a democratic leader, made Athens a great city. The period of his leadership was called the "Golden Age of Athens" or the "Age of Pericles". The city's most famous feature is Acropolis, a flat-topped hill capped with the ruins of Parthenon, other ancient temples, monuments, and works of art.

Nowadays, Athens dominates the economic, cultural, and political life of modern Greece. However, the city still keeps numerous ancient buildings, monuments, and artworks from the classical age of Ancient Greece, as well as museums of Greek art, culture, and history. Many of the cultural highlights of Athens, as well as all the hotels, were renovated for the Olympic Games in the summer of 2004.

In September 2007, ESPHI will celebrate 40 years from its foundation, in the Athens' meeting. We invite you all, to visit renovated Athens, and actively participate in the meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you in Athens.
The president
S. Aronis.