Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends,

It is now just a few weeks until ECR 2014. As congress president, I am very much looking forward to welcoming you to this meeting, which will take place on March 6-10 in Vienna, Austria. Every ECR that I have attended has been a unique and unforgettable event and I am absolutely sure that ECR 2014 is going to continue this brilliant chain of outstanding meetings. I am also very proud that ECR 2014 is a jubilee meeting – it is the 20th congress in the modern history of the event, counting from the pivotal year of 1991 when it was completely re-designed and held for the first time in Vienna.

The ECR2014 final programme has been completed and you can find it via the ESR website (myESR.org) or via the completely new ‘ECR Page’ (ECR.myESR.org) .

ECR 2014 Congress President, Prof. Valentin Sinitsyn, from Moscow, Russia

I am very glad that my country, Russia, will feature as one of three guest countries in the ‘ESR meets’ programme, along with Serbia and Mexico. The national radiological societies of all three countries have proposed very interesting programmes for their sessions and I hope that ECR 2014 attendees will enjoy all plenty of interaction – both formal and informal – with radiologists from Russia, Serbia and Mexico. There will also be opportunities to get a taste of culture from each of these guest nations. Besides countries, every year the ESR invites a partner discipline, represented by a European medical society. This year the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) will be our guests and you can read more about their session here.

Our congress always features a few new projects and initiatives. One of the most notable innovations at ECR2014 is the introduction of a Multimedia Classroom and Case-Based Diagnosis teaching sessions. The live video and social media stream ECR Live will also break some new ground by offering the option of watching sessions not only live, but also on demand, after they have taken place.

It is very difficult for me to pick out any specific recommendations from the programme. Each topic area has been put together with so much care, that it feels impossible to single anything out. You will have to examine it closely and make your own choice, but I believe that anyone’s ‘must attend’ list should include the Opening Ceremony, the Honorary Lectures, and of course the ‘ESR Meets…’ Sessions. Our guest countries in 2014 are Russia, Mexico and Serbia, all of whom will put on fascinating sessions, plus our partner discipline this year is cardiology, represented by the European Society of Cardiology. All of these will bring a very welcome new perspective to the ECR. I hope you will find the time to visit the Image Interpretation Quiz (entitled Girls versus Boys – a particularly intriguing contest) under the moderation of Prof. A. Rossi, and the Junior Image Interpretation Quiz, ingeniously named Matryoshka Contest by its moderator, Dr. S. Gourtsoyianni.
Beyond these special highlights, the selection of New Horizons, State of the Art, Professional Challenges and Multidisciplinary Sessions on offer this year cover a huge range of hot topics that is sure to cater to any attendee’s tastes. Add to that another great set of Categorical, Refresher and Mini Courses plus the many accompanying sessions and company satellite symposia, and you can see how most ECR participants end up with a very hectic schedule.

I hope that you will also find some time in that timetable to enjoy the many cultural highlights of marvelous Vienna, as well as the hotly anticipated evening highlight of the congress, the ECR Party, which will be held at the Praterdome on Sunday, March 9. Come and dance the night away!

I look forward to welcoming all of you to Vienna for ECR 2014!

With best wishes,

Valentin Sinitsyn
ECR 2014 Congress President

Be Sociable, Share!

•