Interview: Prof. Boris Brkljačić, chair of the ESR Communication and External Affairs Committee
Talking to our own members is obviously important to the ESR, but communication with the public and other groups of radiologists is high on the agenda too. This is why the ESR has its own Communication and External Affairs Committee, which is responsible for relations with patient groups and international societies, as well as various other initiatives. We spoke to the committee chairperson, Prof. Boris Brkljačić, to find out a little about the committee’s functions and his own role.
ESR Office: What is your background within the ESR committee structure and what motivates you to be involved?
Boris Brkljačić: I have been involved in ESR activities for more than a decade. I have been the national representative of the Croatian Society of Radiology on two ESR committees and was involved in ESR activities while I was president of Croatian Society of Radiology. I was also a member first of the Finance Committee, and then of the Communication and External Affairs Committee (CEAC) during the chairmanship of Dr. Luigi Solbiati. After that I served from 2011 to 2014 as chairman of the ESR Finance and Internal Affairs Committee, and in March 2014 I was elected chairman of the Communication and External Affairs Committee. I have been involved in the organisation of several ECRs as a member of the programme planning committee and of two subcommittees, and I was the local organiser of one of the first ESOR courses in 2007, in Dubrovnik. I am also a member of the ESR working group on economics. Being involved with the ESR is very stimulating and motivating. It is a well organised, large and efficient professional society. The benefits for members are many, and the ESR’s activities are especially beneficial for countries that are smaller and have fewer resources, not only in the educational sense but also in the sense of professional activities and the harmonisation of the practice of radiology on the European level.
Prof. Boris Brkljačić, chair of the ESR Communication & External Affairs Committee
ESR: What is the main purpose of the Communication and External Affairs Committee and how does it operate?
BB: The Committee is responsible for liaison with other European and international societies, public relations initiatives of the society, coordinating activities related to the International Day of Radiology, activities related to the Patient Advisory Group in Medical Imaging, activities related to the International Summit at ECR, and it is also involved in the EU agenda. The committee consists of a chairman and four members at large (currently Prof. Philippe Grenier, Prof. Fermin Saez, Prof. Paul Sidhu and Prof. Mustafa Ozmen), as well as the president and 2nd vice-president of the ESR. The chairman of the European School of Radiology (ESOR) and the executive director of the ESR are ex officio members without voting rights. The members meet in person during the ECR, and otherwise communicate electronically.
