The ICHS Board, in its meeting of January 26, has had to take an important decision regarding the organization of its XXIIIrd Congress, to be held in Poznań. The public health situation induced by the COVID-19 pandemic has already forced us to postpone the Congress from 2020 to 2021. Unfortunately, the disease is still spreading worldwide and the current progress of vaccinations does not yet allow us to ensure that participants from all continents will be able to travel to Poland.
There is a consensus on the part of both the Board and the Organizing Committee on the need to keep the form of the Congress face to face, thus avoiding the scenario of a virtual meeting. Therefore the Board unanimously, in accordance with the Organizing Committee, has agreed to postpone the Congress to August 2022.
The Board is well aware of the necessity to maintain the contact with ICHS members in the meantime and will thus convene the General Assemblies – normally held during the Congress – on April 12 and May 17, 2021. These meetings will take place online at 1 pm CET on each date. The agenda and the corresponding documentation will be sent to ICHS Members ahead of the first General Assembly. Each National Committee as well as Affiliated Commission will be asked to nominate their delegates before April 1. The General Assemblies will be presented with the approved applications for the new Board members as well as with the proposals for the next Congress, which we suggest to move to 2026 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of ICHS.
We kindly ask all panel organizers to communicate if they would like to change the content of their sessions, or otherwise reformulate or reframe their proposals in order to adapt them to the new schedule. In a few months, the Board will also open a few slots to allow new proposals for various sessions to be submitted before the end of the year.
Andrea Giardina, ICHS President
Catherine Horel, General Secretary
Krzysztof Makowski, Organizing Committee XXIII Congress