Letter of invitation

Dear colleagues,
In February 2012, the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation will be holding its 7^th Congress on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) in Barcelona, Spain. It is with great pleasure to announce this forthcoming meeting, which is the major educational event in the field of IBD for Europe having its popularity gradually extending throughout the world.

This prestigious event will provide a unique opportunity to gain access to the latest and best scientific information and education in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) from the perspective of the different medical fields including gastroenterology, endoscopy, surgery, and pediatrics. Our Congress aims to truly advance the understanding of these digestive disorders, share knowledge and fine-tune the future IBD research agenda. By encouraging research & development and fostering international collaboration and friendship, our Congress promotes and inspires IBD experts to further strive to bring hope and comfort to the many people who suffer from IBD.

Our programme is structured in basic science and clinical sections. There will be oral and poster presentations of accepted abstracts, and our 2012 ECCO Fellowships and ECCO Grants will be announced. Many educational activities take place, such as the 10^th IBD Intensive Advanced Course for Junior Gastroenterologists with the integrated 5^th Young-ECCO Workshop, the 6^th Nurses-ECCO Network Meeting and the 3^rd Nurses-ECCO School. We are proud to announce the expansion of our educational activities with the 1^st Surgery-ECCO IBD Masterclass, the 1^st Epidemiology Workshop and the 1^st Clinical Trial Workshop all of which will offer high-end training modules for the respective interest areas. Also, a refresher course will be offered to our Corporate Partners. Finally, during our 1^st Global IBD Forum we will welcome sister IBD Societies from countries all around the world including Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Saudia Arabia and South Africa to discuss advances in IBD and establish global collaboration.

Registration for the Congress and its many activities is now open - please register here.

I look forward to seeing you in Barcelona in February 2012 and on behalf of ECCO extend a warm welcome to you all.

Yours sincerely,





Daniel Hommes
ECCO President & Chair of Organising Committee