| European Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery | |
| Report from the 18th Congress of the ESPN, Kiruna,
Sweden, June 14-18th, 2002 |
The ESPN Congress was hosted by the beautiful city of Kiruna in
northern Sweden – welcoming us in early summer and midnight sun. Some 200
participants found this unique spot in Scandinavia. The meeting had
started with a short hands-on course on microsurgery, endoscopy, virtual
training, contact-laser surgery, and other features. A reception for the
companies was given by the local industry. The ESPN NMT-golf tournament
took place around midnight – and I believe all players found this a very
special experience. The scientific
part of the congress continued at Folkets Hus in the centre of Kiruna, and
the perfect facilities promoted a smooth function. Abstracts are published
in Child’s Nervous System, June issue 2002. Invited lectures about
hydrocephalus, endoscopy, bleeding disorders, and epilepsy were highlights
of the program. The welcome
reception hosted by Medtronic/PS Medical was organized at the Homestead
Museum where we were welcomed by an ice sculpture with our ESPN logo. The reception was
mainly outdoors with jojk singing, visiting the museums, reindeers and
folk dancing, eating and drinking at the brinks of Tornelven (the Torn
river) at Jukkasjärvi. The Municipality
of Kiruna and NMT hosted the Gala dinner. The beautiful surroundings in
the Main City Hall gave a spectacular spirit of the north. Food was
traditional Sapmi food. Our new president, C. DiRocco, was officially
introduced during the ESPN Poncho Ceremony. The farewell
party, hosted by Aesculap, took place in the most stunning northern
weather with sunshine and no wind. We were shooting the rapids at the
Kalix River and enjoyed our dinner at the shores of the river, followed by
a drink from the famous, true ice glasses from the Ice Hotel. We believe that
many participants will never forget our last wilderness of Europe, the
Sapmi/Scandinavian north where children live a healthy outdoor life in an
unspoiled nature, symbolizing our aims for protecting children from
environmental disorders. Jens Haase, past
president of the ESPN
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