by WSPOS Team.
When we planned our trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this year to attend the 5th World Congress of Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, little did we know that we would have the time of our lives.
In the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur, over 1400 attendees from 69 countries converged for the world's largest paediatric ophthalmology and strabismus conference from the 11–13th of July 2024, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Held once every three years, the WCPOS is well known for its diversity of attendees and speakers, its cutting-edge presentations and upholding its manifesto, Expertise Resides All Over the World; but this became known as ‘the rainbow conference’.
A full plenary hall – opening ceremony of the WCPOS V, 2024 – the 'rainbow conference'.
The opening ceremony on kicked off with a hall full of attendees and Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi bin Abu Hassan, Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Malaysia as the Guest of Honour, who pronounced the congress open by sounding a gong.
The conference featured three captivating keynote lectures, each offering unique insights into the world of paediatric ophthalmology and strabismus. Stephen Kraft from Canada delivered the strabismus keynote lecture and spoke on a wide array of topics, covering everything from the basics of strabismus examination to the most advanced technologies available in the field. Dr Vijayalakshmi from India implored the audience to treat the child as a whole and not just consider the eye, stressing that every child has a right to sight. Shigeru Kinoshita from Japan delivered the Kanski Medal Lecture and gave us an in-depth analysis on ‘Innovative Approaches to Managing Paediatric Corneal Diseases’. Beyond the 53 symposia that featured and over 300 invited local and international speakers and moderators, we had 24 ‘Free Paper’, ‘Poster Village’, and ‘Video Village’ sessions, thereby making the WCPOS V, 2024 a truly global congress.
Strabismus workshop, WSPOS Symposia, WSPOS Connectivity Bureau – Celebrating 15 years of WSPOS.
The diverse spread available at the WCPOS V, 2024 had symposia and courses that catered to varied interests, from practical workshops for beginners to groundbreaking research in strabismus and were all well attended. The most innovative session was the ‘Paediatric Ophthalmic Pentathlon’, the first of its kind – an interactive competition that was held on the third day of the conference. Four teams were pitted against each other in five rounds and were tested on their ophthalmic, as well as non-ophthalmic, knowledge. There was a tie, with two nail-biting tie breaker rounds, following which one team emerged victorious. This session brought out the fun side of the most serious ophthalmologists and added a sparkle to the WCPOS V, 2024.
The other highlights of the WCPOS V, 2024 were the ‘Strabismus Workshop’ and the ‘Non-Accidental Injury Mock Trial’ session, both of which were conducted on the last day of the congress.
The strabismus workshop had 15 world-renowned instructors explain and demonstrate surgical strabismus techniques to an eager group of 78 participants. These techniques were demonstrated using eye models and face plates and participants were also given some hands-on training.
The ‘Non-Accidental Injury Mock Trial’ session was yet another interesting session, where a mock court of law analysed non-accidental injury situations and ruled in their favour / against them.
The best part of the congress was that each one felt a sense of personal belonging and displayed a sense of responsibility and was emotionally involved.
The exhibition hall buzzed with activity, and we had close to 40 exhibitors, all of whom were showcasing their innovations. We also had a WSPOS booth, which gave delegates a chance to interact with the WSPOS bureau members stationed there and acquire an insight into the functioning of this charitable organisation.
Paediatric 'Ophthalmic Pentathlon' organisers.
The exhibition hall also housed our unique poster and video ‘villages’ where people were given the opportunity to present their work to a captive audience. These sessions were conducted in the proximity of the Kiosk E-Posters and Videos where delegates could view submitted e-posters and videos as per their convenience during the three-day Congress.
The conference facilitated invaluable networking opportunities for one and all. All the attendees (irrespective of whether they were participants, presenters, speakers or moderators) were presented ‘DELEGATE’ badges, reiterating our WSPOS manifesto that ‘expertise resides all over the world’ and at WSPOS, ‘everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner’. Even the most experienced speakers appeared to be easily accessible and were routinely seen engaged in active discussions with anyone who had the passion to learn. Summed up beautifully by Rozalina Loebis, “We are all equal here. Same badge, no speaker ribbon, because everyone is a learner as well as a teacher.” Also, by Shu Ho: “This is the first meeting I have ever been in which everyone (speakers and delegates) is wearing the same badge. Everyone is a learner and there is no hierarchy.” And by Claudia Polo: “Aqui todos somos iguales. La misma insignia, sin cinta de orador porque todos somos aprendices y tambien maestros.”
Most people had mixed feelings when we approached the close of day three. No one wanted a conference of this kind to end. It was clear that WSPOS had once again succeeded in bringing together some of the brightest minds in the field. We not only amassed an enormous amount of knowledge but ended up making friends for life, friends from every corner of the world at our ‘rainbow conference’!
