Dear ILDS Members, friends and colleagues,

Welcome to our first newsletter of 2023 which has seen ILDS have a busy and exciting start to the year. February saw the ILDS Board meet in London to discuss ILDS programmes and activities, agree on objectives for 2023 and to elect your new ILDS President to take over when I step down from my current position in July.

Our new President-Elect, Prof Henry W. Lim, will take up his position following the World Congress of Dermatology in Singapore and I am delighted to hand over presidings to such an esteemed and renowned colleague who has been a member of the ILDS Executive Committee of the Board for the past 4 years. I am confident the ILDS will be in the best of hands and I look forward to sharing the journey with you all.

As we finalise details for the World Congress, we hope to see as many of you in Singapore as possible as we come together for the first time in four years to reconnect, learn, share and strengthen our passion for "Skin Health for the World". The final Scientific Programme developed by the ILDS Scientific Programme Committee under the direction of Prof Martin Röcken and Vice-Chair Prof Henry Lim is outstanding and can be viewed here.  

Sincerely,

Lars.

Dear ILDS Members, friends and colleagues,

I am deeply honored to have been elected as the President-Elect of ILDS starting immediately after the 25^th  World Congress in Singapore. Being a leader of ILDS, an organization that encompasses all the dermatological societies globally, is truly a humbling and exciting experience.

It is a privilege to follow Prof Lars French as a president. Prof French has greatly expanded the scope of activities of ILDS, ranging from educational and scientific activity and humanitarian projects, to active engagement with WHO.

Based on input from leaders of member societies who participated in the 3^rd World Skin Summit held in Lima, Peru, on Oct 13-15, I plan to increase the engagement of ILDS with member societies, including strategic discussions, educational exchange, and joint meetings, to continue to strengthen our engagement with WHO, and to enhance our humanitarian effort through International Foundation of Dermatology.  As a global organization, diversity, equity and inclusion will continue to be emphasized.

During my 4-year term, I do look forward to meeting many of you in person, and getting input from all of you in order to continue to achieve excellent Skin Health for the World.

With warm personal greetings,

Henry.

ILDS Board Meeting - 7th and 8th February 2023 - our first ILDS Board Meeting of the year was held in London, UK over the course of two days where the Directors came together to discuss the ILDS Strategy as well as all organisation programmes and activities. Watch our reel on the events of the meeting here. At this meeting, the new President of the ILDS was elected and we congratulate Prof Henry W. Lim on becoming the ILDS President-Elect. Get to know Prof Henry W.Lim and his plans for ILDS.

International Women's Day - 8th March 2023 - In honour of International Women's Day 2023, the ILDS recognised the remarkable achievements of our women ILDS Board Members, who are making a significant impact in the field of dermatology. Their journeys serve as a testament to the endless possibilities for women in dermatology...read more.

Assembly of Delegates - Delegate registration - Emails were sent in February asking eligible ILDS Member Societies to register their delegates for the Assembly of Delegates to be held at the World Congress of Dermatology in Singapore in July. Members will be asked to cast their votes on a number of important decisions (see WCD23 ILDS activities for more details). Delegates MUST be registered by 30 April 2023. If you would like to receive a reminder of your Society's link, please contact us.

Regional Director voting update - Regional Director longlist voting is now closed. Thank you to those who were able to submit their votes. The next stage is the shortlist voting which will take place at the Assembly of Delegates in Singapore. You can view the shortlisted nominees here.

We are delighted to launch our new grant project "ILDS Global Partnerships for Education and Care (GPEC)" which seeks to improve the standard of dermatological education and care worldwide, through facilitating mutual learning partnerships between organisations. Grant applications are now being accepted until 31 May 2023. For more information, click here.

World Health Day 2023 - In celebration of World Health Day on 7th April 2023, and the 75th anniversary of the World Health Organization (WHO), the ILDS released a short video highlighting the importance of dermatology in global health. Watch the video here. 

World Skin Health Day 2022 was a global success. Activities took place around the world and included various campaigns, clinics, workshops, lectures and training sessions to reach a combined total of over 8 million people. Read the full report here.

The 28^th RDTC International Continuing Medical Education (CME) Conference and Post Graduate Reunion 2023: Celebrating Skin Health Education was recently hosted by the RDTC in Tanzania. Attended by around 300 healthcare practitioners from across Africa, expert speakers delivered informative sessions on skin health issues commonly faced in Africa. Read the blog here.

DermLink Grants - In 2022, the IFD awarded 10 Dermlink grants worth over $47,000 for projects in Malawi, Tajikistan, the Pacific Islands, Madagascar, Nigeria, Indonesia, Burundi, Sri Lanka, and Ethiopia. Find out more about these amazing projects here.

First global meeting on Skin NTDs - The ILDS was proud to work alongside the World Health Organization (WHO) for their first global meeting on skin-related neglected tropical diseases (skin NTDs). Held from 27–31 March 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland, the hybrid meeting was attended by about 300 in-person and over 1000 online attendees from 86 countries. Read more on the WHO website.

Open WHO - Learn how you can help in the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) with the OpenWHO NTD Course Series! The ILDS is also collaborating with WHO to develop additional training courses on NTDs of the skin to add to the platform. Visit the OpenWHO website to access the valuable resources already online today!

Global Psoriasis Atlas - We are pleased to announce that the Leo Foundation will continue to be The Global Psoriasis Atlas (GPA)'s lead supporter as it enters phase 3 (2023-2026). For more information on the GPA and its' work, click here..

AAD annual meeting - Members of the ILDS Board attended the AAD's annual meeting in New Orleans, USA from March 17-21, 2023. There were many highlights including ILDS Board Member, Dr Daniel Siegel, being chosen as the recipient of the AAD 2023 Gold Medal. A fantastic and well-deserved achievement. Congratulations Dan. Click here for more news from the event.

Get involved! We would be delighted to share news of ILDS Member Societies' events and webinars on our website and in our newsletters*. 

*Terms and conditions apply - click below for more details.

Deadline for delegate registration for Assembly of Delegates

Deadline to submit Articles for Member Initiatives Directory

Submission deadline for the GPEC Programme applications