HAPPY DAYS!

There seem to be happy days for Europe.  Finally the new treaty of Lisbon is nearly accepted after the decision of Ireland and Poland, and when there are constructive relationships with the Transatlantic partner and the Eastern counterparts as well. The unification of Europe - intended to preserve national and regional characteristics as much as possible - is advancing. The unification of European science has long been a promoter of this process even if the public at large has not been aware of this. European Gastroenterology and Hepatology has contributed to this process in a significant way.

UEGF/UEGW

Scientific societies in Europe are organized in two dimensions: Each discipline historically tends to have a national society, some of them already many decennia old. This horizontal development has been followed by a vertical movement in the second half of the last century, when national societies aggregated into European associations and federations to promote international collaboration and representation of the strong Old Continent (one rather avoids to speak about the weak points!). Gastroenterology/Hepatology, the largest clinical and scientific discipline after the cardio-vascular field, has had an indicative development.

The United European Gastroenterology Foundation (UEGF) was formed by seven existing European societies representing gastroenterological sub-specialities and techniques (in the field of liver diseases, surgery, paediatric gastrointestinal disorders, and endoscopy), the so-called "Seven Sisters". Very soon they were joined by newly founded associations, the so-called "Cousins", representing emerging clinical fields and techniques within the mother discipline.

In 1992, the UEGF began  in Athens to organize its own continental congress, the United European Gastroenterology Week, UEGW, that took up the idea and format of the Digestive Disease Week (DDW; www.ddw.org ) in the US and globally seen is paralleled by the yearly Asian-Pacific Digestive Week (APDW). The UEGW had an enormous success and attracted in its 2008 edition in Vienna more than 12.000 delegates, a figure coming close to the participation at the DDW. This year, the UEGW is taking place in the London ExCel Congress Centre from November 21 - 25. To demonstrate the synchronous tie to the national, and continental societies as well as the global interest, the congress in London is co-organised together with the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) and the World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO) and has for this occasion taken on the title GASTRO 2009. In this congress, also patient organisations will receive a large attention.

ASNEMGE

The Association de Societes Nationales et Mediterranees de Gastroenterologie (ASNEMGE) is one of the founding Sisters of the UEGF. It is the oldest of the federated societies (existing since 1947) and has the very special role to co-ordinate the horizontal layer of the European Gastroenterology/Hepatology, that is the 41 national societies in Europe, from historical and geographic reasons also including the North-African and the Israeli societies. It encompasses more than 22.000 individual gastroenterologists and hepatologists! After previously having organised the forerunner congresses of the UEGW , it now concentrates on its original task, gathering and transmitting the national and individual membership's ideas and wishes to the structures within the UEGF, but also on post-graduate teaching in the science and clinics of Gastroenterology/Hepatology for trainees and young specialist in the field from whole Europe and increasingly also from outside. ASNEMGE continues to stress the horizontal, national axis of European Gastroenterology/Hepatology, but has recently undertaken a move to unify those associations within the UEGF that are dealing with the traditional Gastroenterology in a provisory block called "fEMGA", a potential forerunner of a future larger association comparable to the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA).

 EJGH

The European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (EJGH) was founded in 1988 and for nearly 20 years edited by Dr George Misiewicz. Its main aim has always been to illustrate the European achievements in Gastroenterology/Hepatology. After the retirement of Dr Misiewicz, the EJGH is now co-edited by Prof Didier Lebrec (Paris) for Hepatology and Prof Reinhold Stockbrugger (Maastricht; Ferrara) for Gastroenterology. The EJGH is thriving, with an Impact Factor recently passing the 2.0 and an increasing number of submissions and readers. A new cover page clearly symbolizes the European interest!

EJGH and ASNEMGE

One of the editors of EJGH (RS) has a long interest in the integration of European Gastroenterology/Hepatology, working within ASNEMGE and UEGF for more than ten years. Nothing was therefore more logical than having a joint venture between a journal dedicated to European Gastroenterology/Hepatology and the European professional body, that represents all individual members of that speciality.  The intention is to parallel the very successful initiatives of the AGA (publishing "Gastroenterology" and "Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology") and the Asian-Pacific societies, publishing the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology")? The idea was enthusiastically accepted  by the publisher of the EJGH and by the council of ASNEMGE.  We are currently at the stage of serious negotiations between a number of large and smaller G/H societies in Europe and the journal to promote national and European Gastroenterology/Hepatology in a fruitful cooperation.

The recent development of an electronic edition of the EJGH and the creation of an interactive web-based information- and discussion platform renders ample possibilities for a support to European G/H, including professional networking, web-based acquisition of CME credits and early information of development in the Bio-Medical industry (BMI). Also the idea of web-based social contacting - discussion groups; G/H blogs; personal communications - are future options.

HAPPY DAYS in the future?

Europe, European Gastroenterology /Hepatology, the EJGH and many members of our profession have in the last decennia have experienced the  positive development of co-operation . However, nothing is given for free. The continuous creation and realisation of progressive ideas and an international competition in friendship have to be newly enforced every day. The joint venture described above is hopefully a winning formula. Good luck to us!

On behalf of ASNEMNGE:
Franco Bazzoli
Mark Hull

On behalf of EJGH:
Phil Daly
Didier Lebrec
Reinhold Stockbrugger