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ANNUAL REPORT 2008
ANNUAL REPORT
2008
Registered Charity No. 1060134
PresidentGérard London, France
Secretary-TreasurerAdrian Covic, Romania
(Editor-in-Chief of “Follow us”)
Chairperson of the Administrative OfficesRosanna Coppo, Italy
(Chairperson of the European Council for Accreditation in CME in Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation)
(Chairperson ERA-EDTA - CME Activities)
Editor-in-Chief of “Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation”Norbert Lameire, Belgium
(Chairman of the Scientific Committee - Stockholm, 2008)
Chairman of the RegistryCarmine Zoccali, Italy
(Editor-in-Chief of “NDT-Educational”)
Ordinary Council MembersGiovanni Cancarini, Italy
Dominque Chauveau, FranceIvan Rychlik, Czech Republic
Goce Spasovski, F.Y.R. of MacedoniaPeter Stenvinkel, Sweden
(Chairman of the Paper Selection Committee)Gultekin Süleymanlar, TurkeyChristoph Wanner, Germany
Andrzej J. Wiecek, Poland
Congress President WCN 2009 - MilanFrancesco Locatelli, Italy
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1) List of Officers and Council Members page 4 2) Report by the President, Gérard London page 10
3) Report by the Secretary-Treasurer, Adrian Covic page 12
4) Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities (Year ended 31st December 2008) page 14 5) Report by the Chairperson of the Administrative Offices, Rosanna Coppo page 18
6) Minutes of the XLV General Assembly, Stockholm, 2008 page 25
7) Agenda of the XLVI General Assembly, Milan, 2009 page 35
ANNUAL
REPORT
2008
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FORMER AND CURRENT OFFICERS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS
HONORARY MEMBERS
Name Country Year StartedKennedy A.C. United Kingdom 1982 Drukker W. The Netherlands 1982 Migone L. Italy 1984Kolff W.J. U.S.A. 1985Scribner B.H. U.S.A. 1985Kerr D.N.S. United Kingdom 1986Legrain M. France 1987Traeger J. France 1988Boen S.T. The Netherlands 1988McGeown M.G. United Kingdom 1990Watschinger B. Austria 1991Shaldon S. Monaco 1994Cameron J.S. United Kingdom 1998Cambi V. Italy 2002Davison A.M. United Kingdom 2002Ritz E. Germany 2005
PRESIDENTS
Name Country Year StartedForminje B. The Netherlands 1964*Swinney J. United Kingdom 1965*Traeger J. France 1966*Thaysen J.H. Denmark 1967*Walsh A. Ireland 1968*Dutz H. Germany 1969*Rotellar E. Spain 1970*Alwall N. Sweden 1971*Migone L. Italy 1972*Kennedy A.C. United Kingdom 1972Thaysen J.H. Denmark 1975Legrain M. France 1978Andreucci V.E. Italy 1981Cameron J.S. United Kingdom 1984Klinkmann H. Germany 1987Botella J. Spain 1990Bernheim J. Israel 1993Berthoux F. France 1996Davison A.M. United Kingdom 1999Locatelli F. Italy 2002Cannata-Andía J. Spain 2005London G. France 2008
* From 1964 to 1972 the President of the Association was also the Congress President and remained in office for one year only instead of three
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SECRETARY-TREASURERS
Name Country Year StartedDrukker W. The Netherlands 1964Carmody M. Ireland 1969Andreucci V.E. Italy 1973Boen S.T. The Netherlands 1979Botella J. Spain 1984Cambi V. Italy 1990Carrera F. Portugal 1996Cannata-Andía J. Spain 2002Covic A. Romania 2005
CHAIRPERSON OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
Name Country Year StartedCambi V. Italy 1996Piera L. Spain 1999Coppo R. Italy 2005
EDITORES EMERITI
Name Country Year StartedDavison A.M. United Kingdom 1993Ritz E. Germany 1999Drüeke T.B. France 2005
EDITORS
Name Country Year StartedKerr D.N.S. United Kingdom 1964Cameron J.S. United Kingdom 1970Moorhead J. United Kingdom 1973Robinson B.H.B United Kingdom 1976Davison A.M. United Kingdom 1982Ritz E. Germany 1993Drüeke T.B. France 1999Lameire N. Belgium 2005
CHAIRMEN OF THE REGISTRY
Name Country Year StartedDrukker W. The Netherlands 1969Gurland H. Germany 1972Wing A.J. United Kingdom 1976Brunner F. Switzerland 1985Mallick N.B. United Kingdom 1991
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Valderrabano F. Spain 1995Briggs J.D. United Kingdom 1997Zoccali C. Italy 2003
ORDINARY COUNCIL MEMBERS
Name Country Year StartedThaysen J.H. Denmark 1964Giovanetti S. Italy 1964Funk-Bretano J.L. France 1964Shaldon S. United Kingdom 1964Alwall N. Sweden 1964Michielsen P. Belgium 1966Orlowski T. Poland 1966Traeger J. France 1966Alexander G.P.J. Belgium 1966Fritz K.W. Germany 1966Kennedy A.C. United Kingdom 1967Mery J.P. France 1967Migone L. Italy 1967Valek A. Czech Republic 1967Bucht H. Sweden 1969Fries D. France 1969Schackman R. United Kingdom 1969Watschinger B. Austria 1969Berionade V. Romania 1970Shaldon S. France 1970Giordano C. Italy 1970van Ypersele C. Belgium 1970Gurland H. Germany 1971Lindstrom B. Finland 1972Mion C. France 1972Andreucci V. Italy 1972Vereerstraeten P. Belgium 1973Pinggera W. Austria 1973Carmody M. Ireland 1973Cattel W. United Kingdom 1973Laurent G. France 1973Hoeltzenbein J. Germany 1974Klinkmann H. Germany 1975Brunner F. Switzerland 1975Boen S.T. The Netherlands 1976Gelin L.E. Sweden 1976Kerr D.N.S. United Kingdom 1976Legrain M. France 1976Schutterle G. Germany 1976Kock B. Finland 1977Bergström J. Sweden 1978Cambi V. Italy 1978Kokot F. Poland 1978
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Struyvenberg A. The Netherlands 1979Parson V. United Kingdom 1979Andreucci V. Italy 1979Mion C. France 1979Valek A. Czech Republic 1980Ringoir S. Belgium 1981Taraba I. Hungary 1981D’Amico G. Italy 1981Sieberth H. Germany 1981Botella J. Spain 1982Cameron J.S. United Kingdom 1982Jacobs C. France 1982Brynger H. Sweden 1983Wing A.J. United Kingdom 1984Klinkmann H. Germany 1984Cambi V. Italy 1984Dal Canton A. Italy 1984van Ypersele C. Belgium 1984Boen S.T. The Netherlands 1985Mery J.P. France 1985Taraba I. Hungary 1986Kokot F. Poland 1987Bergström J. Sweden 1987Grünfeld J.P. France 1987Koch K.M. Germany 1987Maiorca R. Italy 1987Cordonnier D. France 1988Valderrabano F. Spain 1988Brynger H. Sweden 1989Zucchelli P. Italy 1990Stumvoll H.K. Austria 1990Ritz E. Germany 1990Papadimitriou M.G. Greece 1990Bernheim J. Israel 1990Maggiore Q. Italy 1991Druet P. France 1991Pirson Y. Belgium 1992Berthoux F. France 1993Kokot F. Poland 1993Cannata-Andía J. Spain 1993Piccoli G. Italy 1994Carrera F. Portugal 1994Briggs J.D. United Kingdom 1994Fournier A. France 1995Pedersen E.B. Denmark 1995Davison A.M. United Kingdom 1996Schena F.P. Italy 1996Sonkodi S. Hungary 1996Kessler M. France 1997Krediet R.T. The Netherlands 1997Piera L. Spain 1997
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Locatelli F. Italy 1998Morales J.M. Spain 1998De Francisco A.L.M. Spain 1999Hörl W.H. Austria 1999Wiecek A. Poland 1999Nagy J. Hungary 2000Vanholder R. Belgium 2000Zoccali C. Italy 2000Coppo R. Italy 2001Floege J. Germany 2001Basci A. Turkey 2002London G. France 2002Olgaard K. Denmark 2002Covic A. Romania 2003Eckardt K.-U. Germany 2003Tsakiris D. Greece 2003Goldsmith D. United Kingdom 2004Macdougall I. United Kingdom 2004Frazão J. Portugal 2005Ronco P. France 2005Utas C. Turkey 2005Spasovski G. F.Y.R. of Macedonia 2006Wanner C. Germany 2006Wiecek A.J. Poland 2006Cancarini G. Italy 2007Stenvinkel P. Sweden 2007Chauveau D. France 2008Rychlik I. Czech Republic 2008Süleymanlar G. Turkey 2008
CONGRESS PRESIDENTS
Name Country YearForminje B. The Netherlands 1964Swinney J. United Kingdom 1965Traeger J. France 1966Thaysen J.H. Denmark 1967Walsh A. Ireland 1968Dutz H. Germany 1969Rotellar E. Spain 1970Alwall N. Sweden 1971Migone L. Italy 1972Watschinger B. Austria 1973Rosenfeld J. Israel 1974Thaysen J.H. Denmark 1975Schutterle G. Germany 1976Linstrom B. Finland 1977Önen K. Turkey 1978Struyvenberg A. The Netherlands 1979Valek A. Czech Republic 1980
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Funk-Bretano J.L. France 1981Botella J. Spain 1982Kerr D.N.S. United Kingdom 1983Cambi V. Italy 1984Ringoir S. Belgium 1985Taraba I. Hungary 1986Kessel M. Germany 1987Botella J. Spain 1988Brynger H. Sweden 1989Watschinger B. Austria 1990Cambi V. Italy 1991Jacobs C. France 1992Briggs J.D. United Kingdom 1993Stummvoll H.K. Austria 1994Mountokalakis Th. Greece 1995Donker A.J.M. The Netherlands 1996Bernheim J. Switzerland 1997Zucchelli P. Italy 1998Valderrabano F. Spain 1999Berthoux F. France 2000Hörl W.H. Austria 2001Olgaard K. Denmark 2002Ritz E. Germany 2003Carrera F. Portugal 2004Serdengecti K. Turkey 2005Locatelli F. Italy 2005*Fox J.G. United Kingdom 2006Cannata-Andía J. Spain 2006*Piera L. Spain 2007Cannata-Andía J. Spain 2007*Alvestrand A. Sweden 2008Cannata-Andía J. Spain 2008*Locatelli F. Italy 2009Wanner C. Germany 2010London G. France 2010*
* Co-President
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REPORT OF THE PRESIDENTGERARD M. LONDON
For my first report as President of our Association I would like to thank Prof. Jorge B. Cannata- Andía and all Officers and Ordinary Council members as well as the staff of the Administrative Office for their continuous involvement and participation in the many activities of ERA-EDTA.
The main event of 2008 was the annual ERA-EDTA Congress in Stockholm that attracted the highest number of attendees in the “history” of our Congresses. I would like to take advantage of the present report to thank all those who made the success of this event possible, beginning with Prof. Anders Alvestrand, President of the Congress, Prof. Peter Stenvinkel Chairman of the abstract Selection Committee, and the Scientific committee under the leadership of its Chairman Prof. Norbert Lameire.
The success of ERA-EDTA Congresses is proof of the still increasing visibility and scientific impact of our Society. This was made possible by many ERA-EDTA initiatives launched by previous Presidents and Councils, including the ERA-EDTA fellowship program, which started in 2006. In order to increase the impact and visibility of this program, during the Stockholm meeting, a special Symposium was devoted to the presentations of fellowship programs obtained since the beginning of the program. Another strong point of the Society was the need to attract young Nephrologists as well as help Nephrologists from countries with “lower incomes”: the Society offered special reduced Membership fees, and travel grants for these members. The educational efforts of our Society are still increasing with an organization of 30 CME courses throughout Europe and participation in the scientific activities of several National Nephrological Society’s annual Meetings with the presentation of the “ERA-EDTA Highlights” from our Congresses. The increased collaboration with National Societies is giving its fruits and one of the results will be the ERA-EDTA Congress 2010 in Munich – which will be organized between ERA-EDTA and German Society of Nephrology. I would finally like to highlight the role of ERA-EDTA publications: NDT, NDT Plus (Norbert Lameire, Jürgen Floege, David Wheeler), NDT-Educational (Carmine Zoccali) and “Follow us”(Adrian Covic) for their contribution and efforts in maintaining the high level of these educational and scientific journals.
To encourage scientific activities, ERA-EDTA is now launching a research program whose main aim will be to favour the establishment of Working Groups and Networks of research centres throughout Europe. As for the fellowship programs, the research programs will be reviewed and proposed for Council’s approval by the newly elected Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The by-laws governing the Working Group activities were presented for Council’s approval in March 2009 and after announced on ERA-EDTA website. The European Recommended Best Practice (ERBP) Working Group, under the leadership of Prof. Raymond Vanholder, is an example of an already well established, and very successful Working Group as an Advisory Board to ERA-EDTA. Its activity has already given birth to three publications in NDT. For the future ERBP WG is preparing initiatives such as Position Statements and Recommendations, and a collaboration with KDIGO group.
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Furthermore I would like to invite you to attend the World Congress of Nephrology, jointly organized by ERA-EDTA and ISN, which is to take place May 22-26, 2009 in Milan (Italy). The Scientific Program Committee chaired by Prof. Kai-Uwe Eckardt and Prof. Pierre Ronco has prepared an outstanding program covering all major areas in nephrology bringing together all recent developments of basic and clinical science. I hope that you will have the chance to attend this major Nephrological event of 2009.
Finally, enclosed, you will find a diploma* regarding your ERA-EDTA membership.
Prof. Gérard LondonERA-EDTA President
*The diploma is not sent to those members who have already received it or to those members who have not yet paid their 1st annual membership fee (these last ones will receive the diploma as soon as their membership fee is paid for).
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY - TREASURERADRIAN–CONSTANTIN COVIC
In the life of ERA-EDTA, as well as in life in general, changes and progress are important. I am proud to say that, considering all the initiatives and decisions that were taken in the last four years, ERA-EDTA continues its development with even greater achievements.
The aim of the newly formed body – the European Renal Best Practice (ERBP) is to propose correct recommendations, updates, endorsements and consensus in the field of nephrology in Europe. Up to now three important meetings have taken place and the main accomplishments are: change of philosophy from guidelines to guidance, ERBP has been appointed as an official Advisory Board of ERA-EDTA, the
three important publications - considered as position statements – have been published in NDT.
In 2005, during the General Assembly in Istanbul, important resolutions related to a change in the ERA-EDTA election system for Ordinary Council Members were proposed and voted. During the ERA-EDTA General Assembly in Stockholm, 2008, the necessary modifications to introduce the electronic voting procedures for these election were definitely approved. This new election system will allow full ERA-EDTA members to have an active role in the life of the Association even if they cannot participate in the Annual General Assembly. Following the General Assembly requests, an extremely safe and tested software, provided by a certified company, has been selected. The ERA-EDTA full members will receive, by normal post, a strictly personal username and password in order to vote. The electronic system will be opened for a few weeks before the ERA-EDTA Congress in Milan. During the Congress the electronic system will be closed and the voting will be possible only by paper ballots. The software is very secure and strict monitoring of the process will be put into place. Double votes will be not allowed.
At the ERA-EDTA Congress in Milan, three ordinary Council Members – Christoph Wanner (Germany), Goce Spasovski (F.Y.R. of Macedonia) and Andrzej Wiecek (Poland) - are leaving their positions.
Prof. Christoph Wanner was very active in discussions, particularly in those involving the ERA-EDTA Registry and research. He was nominated as Chairman of the Registry at the 2008 Spring Council Meeting and then elected by the General Assembly in Stockholm. He will occupy this position after the General Assembly in Milan.
Prof. Goce Spasovski was deeply involved, as coordinator, in the excellent organization of several CME Courses in the Balkan Countries as well as the BANTAO CME Courses. These courses were organized in cooperation with ISN/COMGAN. Prof. Spasovski, together with Prof. Rosanna Coppo, had an important role in the initiation and development of the ERA-EDTA CME Courses in this geographical area.
Prof. Andrzej Wiecek had constructive interventions during discussions related to the Constitutional amendments and organizational aspects. He participated actively with
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important contributions for the future of European Nephrology guidelines. He also had a decisive role in promoting the special reduced membership fee for members living in Countries in economic difficulty.
I want to thank them, as well as all ERA-EDTA members, for their contributions towards the success of our Association.
Prof. Adrian CovicERA-EDTA Secretary-Treasurer
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ERA-EDTA ACCOUNTSAll the ERA-EDTA final account statements, starting 2002, can be found in the “Restricted Librar-ies” of the “ERA-EDTA Membership” section - www.era-edta.org/membership.htm. Access to this library is restricted to ERA-EDTA members only. Should you wish to receive a hard copy of the 2008 accounts please contact the ERA-EDTA Administration Office (Via I. Spolverini, 2; 43100 Parma; Italy - fax: +39-0521-959242; [email protected]). Please notice that at the time of printing the auditing is still going on: if there are any slight changes in these accounts they will be presented during the General Assembly prior to their approval.
Year ended 31 December 2008Income & Expenditure
Activity 2008 2007€’000 €’000 €’000 €’000
Congress Income - Registrations 2.404 2.347 - Exhibition space 2.071 1.860
4.475 4.207 Expenditure - expenses -2.421 -2.483Net Income on congress activity 2.054 1.724
Membership Income - Subscriptions 495 501 Expenditure - Mgt charges (euromeetings) -109 -126Net Income on membership activity 386 375
Journal Income - Volumes & supplements (gross) 1.648 2.018 Expenditure - Volumes & supplements (gross) -922 -1.143
- Editorial office expenses -242 -211Net Income on Journal activity 484 664
Registry (incl AMC) Income - Registry Grants 25 228 Expenditure - Registry expenses - General -101 -95
- Registry expenses - AMC -494 -388Net expenditure on Registry activity -570 -255
Guidelines Income - Guideline contributions Expenditure - Guidelines -46 -31Net expenditure on Guidelines activity -46 -31
Educational Income - Grants 15 Expenditure - NDT-Educational
-346 -313 - CME courses - Grants - Fellowships
Net expenditure on Educational activity -346 -298
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Activity 2008 2007€’000 €’000 €’000 €’000
Grants for Research Income Donations & Grants 0 0 Expenditure 0 0Net income on Grant activity 0 0
Investments Income - Investment income 151 150 Expenditure - Investment management charges -8 -7Net Income on Investment activity 143 143
Fellowships Income - Fellowships -387 -423 Expenditure - Fellowships -387 -423 Net Income on Fellowships 1.718 1.899
Administration Income - Various 518 192Expenditure - Salaries -58 -95
- Consultants fees -197 -251 - Council meetings -56 -60 - Various -362 -355
Net expenditure on Administrative activity -155 -569
Net income for the year 1.563 1.330
Gains on Investment disposals & revaluations -139 13Consolidation adjustments -522 -164Reserves b/f @ 01.01.08 13.653 12.474Reserves c/f @ 31.12.08 14.555 13.653
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Notes to Income & Expenditure - Administration - Various
2008 2007 €’000 €’000
Income Currency exchange gains 518 193 Other 1
518 194
Expenses Promotional activities 34 47
NephroQuest 3 14EKHA 37 37Committees 1Miscellaneous 1 3Research 0 0
Mail Printing & Publications 72 77 Currency exchange losses 114 38 Telecommunications 9 6 Stationary Travel expenses 3
EKRA feesASB
Miscellaneous 17 2 Credit card commission and bank
charges73 79
Bad debts 46 Corporation tax Depreciation 2 2
362 355
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Balance SheetAs at 31 December 2008
2008 2007€’000 €’000
Fixed assets: Tangible fixed assets 1 2Investments 2.499 2.714
2.500 2.716Current assets: Debtors 821 979Cash at bank 11.940 10.668
12.761 11.647
Total assets 15.261 14.363
Creditors -706 -662Net assets 14.555 13.701
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REPORT OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
ROSANNA COPPO
MEMBERSHIP
At January 1st, 2009, the membership had reached 5355.
Since the year 2000 the number of the ERA-EDTA Members is steadily above 5000.
The number of new members is almost stable (as it has been in the last 10 years), but the trend of leaving the ERA-EDTA after some years of membership has finally been reversed, leading to a clearly positive balance, indicating that we succeeded in making the Society more attractive.
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If we consider Members from each Country, Germany has the highest absolute figure, followed by Poland, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Greece, France, Japan and the Czech Republic which have > 150 Members.
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The figures by Country over the last years show a general stability in 2008 in comparison to Members data of the previous years.
If we relate this number to the population of each Country, Poland has the highest ratio followed by Spain and Germany; Italy and Great Britain share the same member /population ratio. Considering extra European members, we have quite a relevant number from Japan.
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The analysis of the age of our Members gives rise to some considerations.8.1% of our Members are <35 years old, 24.2% are between 35 and 45, 35.4% between 45 and 55, 23.6% between 55 and 651, and 8.7% >65 years old. Hence, two thirds of the ERA-EDTA members are represented by Nephrologists in the full activity age, thus between 35 and 55. The number of young members is rising year by year and this is the result of several benefits given to our young Members.
About 25% of our Members are Associate members from non EU Countries.
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The interest for the ERA-EDTA is clearly shown by the high number of visits to the Society website, on average 16.000 per month.
STOCKHOLM CONGRESS
At the Congress in Stockholm, we registered a further increase in the number of delegates, which reached 6836.
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As usual, two thirds of all the participants, taking into consideration the paying delegates, were non ERA-EDTA members.
It is interesting to note that we had delegates from all over the world.
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The total figure of people attending Stockholm Congress, including exhibitors and visitors, was 9447.
As for other Congresses, most of the registration fees were covered by Companies (4481 versus 2355).
The Stockholm Congress was a success from the scientific point of view and also from the economical one, indicating that our Society is healthy one.
Prof. Rosanna CoppoChairperson of the ERA-EDTA Administrative Offices
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Registered Charity No. 1060134
ERA-EDTA45th GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Stockholm, SwedenTuesday, May 13, 200810: 30 am - 11: 30 am
MINUTES01. Opening.
The President of the Association announced that prior to closing, any full member who had yet to vote could do so before the General Assembly commenced. The voting was closed and the President asked Full Member G. London and Ordinary Council Members A. Wiecek, C. Wanner and P. Stenvinkel to count the votes. The President welcomed everyone to the meeting, thanking Prof. Al. Alvestrand – President of the Congress, Prof. N. Lameire – Chairman of the Scientific Committee and Prof. P. Stenvinkel – Chairman of the Paper Selection Committee for organizing the event.
02. Minutes of the 44th General Assembly, Barcelona, Spain, June 23, 2007.
The minutes from Barcelona were approved.
03. Matters arising from the minutes.
There were no other pending issues.
04. Report of the President of the ERA-EDTA, J. Cannata-Andía.
The President began his last report by thanking the ERA-EDTA officers, Council members, ERA-EDTA members and all staff of the Administrative Offices for their support during the last three years. The general policy was to increase the Association’s visibility and he went on to say that the ERA-EDTA’s activities were growing in scope and importance.
The ERA-EDTA has started a few new initiatives to attract young nephrologists towards the scientific activities of the Society: the special Membership fee for early-career nephrologists; the low Congress Registration fee for students; the travel grants for CME Courses for nephrologists; the grants for the best presentations in National Congresses;
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the travel grants for the Best Abstracts submitted to the ERA-EDTA and the Fellowship Programme.
The ERA-EDTA Fellowship Programme started in 2006. The objective is to support basic and clinical research in the field of Nephrology in Europe, mainly among young investigators. There are two modalities of the Programme: the Long-Term Fellowships that are awarded up to two years in forefront research and the Short-Term Fellowships, established to visit other institutions, to learn about new techniques and to facilitate research links between institutions. Since May 2008, 17 Long-Term Fellowships and 17 Short-Term Fellowships have been awarded. The ERA-EDTA is looking forward to receiving new and interesting candidacies for the future editions. The President encouraged the young scientists to apply for this ERA-EDTA Programme.
The ERA-EDTA is also working hard in the field of Research. The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) plays an important role not only in the selection process of the Fellowship Programme but also in the discussion of future topics for research meetings. The need for official financial support from the European Union for the prevention, treatment and research in Renal Diseases is also a priority of the Association. The European Kidney Health Alliance (EKHA) is progressing. EKHA represents a common initiative in kidney health issues in Europe to increase the awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease and its consequences.
The World Congress of Nephrology, in Milan 2009, is organized in collaboration, cooperation and coordination between the ERA-EDTA and ISN.
The interaction between the ERA-EDTA and the National Societies of Nephrology through Europe expanded two years ago. The ERA-EDTA started several initiatives with the aim of having a closer contact with the Regional and National Societies.
All these challenges are growing with the harmonization of well established ERA-EDTA’s activities such as the NDT Journal under the direction of Prof. N. Lameire, Jürgen Floege and David Wheeler as co-Editors; NDT-Educational directed by Prof. Carmine Zoccali and the “Follow-us under the direction of Prof. Adrian Covic and Prof. Cengiz Utas and Prof. Joao Frazao as co-Editors. The President thanked each of them for making all these activities a success.
He closed by saying that he has a very positive outlook for the future of ERA-EDTA and wishing Prof. G. London all the best.
05. Report of the Secretary-Treasurer of the ERA-EDTA, A. Covic.
The Secretary-Treasurer started his report by appreciating the work with a wonderful team and pointed out a series of excellent initiatives.
He thanked members that are at the end of their mandate as Councillors: Prof. Cengiz Utas, Prof. Joao Frazao and Prof. Pierre Ronco.
The ERA-EDTA website was restructured. Prof. Cengiz Utas and Prof. Joao Frazao, together with ERA-EDTA Website Editors, have been working on this important task.
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The new look is more interactive, more practical and easier to use; it has a more modern graphical design. The information provided by the website is completed monthly by the now well established “Follow us”. The electronic monthly bulletin is clearly a success and has provided a much needed link with all ERA-EDTA members.
Prof. P. Ronco was very active in discussions, particularly in those involving the level of scientific life. He was the Chairman of the Scientific Committee at the XLIII ERA-EDTA Congress in Glasgow and occupies the position as co-chair of the Scientific Committee at the WCN 2009 in Milan.
The Ethics and Governance Committee is continuing his activity. In the course of 2008 and beyond, the Committee has been asked by the ERA-EDTA Council to form a working group in order to examine many important ethical issues around living donations of organs for transplantation.
European Renal Best Practice (ERBP) is a shift in philosophy of European Best Practice Guidelines (EBPG). The need of correct definitions of guidelines, recommendations, updates, endorsements, position statements and consensus was the main motivation in the creation of this board. The primary aim is to generate updates, then to propose new guidelines. In order to produce such important documents, professional bodies, specialty representative groups, scientific / clinical associations, peer review committees, funding bodies, CME groups, consumers and paramedics will be involved / consulted.
Prof. A. Covic concluded that all of these initiatives and decisions reflect that ERA-EDTA continues its development and is shifting gears for the fast lane of European nephrology and science.
Prof. A. Covic continued his report with the 2007 accounts.
06. Approval of the 2007 accounts.
The Secretary-Treasurer informed that the simplified accounts and the full accounts have been forwarded to all ERA-EDTA’s full members. He presented the 2007 accounts in comparison with 2006. Following each chapter of the accounts, Prof. Covic made a few observations:- the net income on Congress Activity is increased, - the investments followed an increasing trend,- the amount for educational activity is slightly increased. The ERA-EDTA CME courses are very successful and well established. Also, the Registry is going very well.- the amount for ERA-EDTA promotional activity is increasing. This activity included booths at congresses of other associations, advertisements in journals and websites, advertising at courses and meetings. - the amount for the Guidelines will be increased in the future according to the budget for ERBP.- the Investments followed an increasing trend.- the Balance sheet showed a gradual increase of the ERA-EDTA reserves.
The accounts were unanimously approved.
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07. Proposed changes to the Constitution of the ERA-EDTA, presented for the second time – see appendix below.
In accordance with the Constitution and following the General Assembly resolutions, a major change was proposed in the ERA-EDTA election system. In order to increase the number of voters at the ERA-EDTA elections (with the current system, voters at the ERA-EDTA elections make up only 6% of those who are entitled to vote) it is necessary to adopt an electronic voting system. The proposals regarding the changes in the Constitution were approved at the Spring Council meeting in 2007 and presented at the General Assembly for the first approval in Barcelona. It is necessary to amend two articles of the Constitution - Clauses VI 02 and IV 07. Also, the article V 04 regarding the number of the Council members with the same nationality was changed in accordance with the General Assembly decision. The Secretary-Treasurer presented the content of these three articles.
Prof. Bernheim asked for security measures of the electronic vote system.
Prof. A. Covic informed the General Assembly that the system itself will be secure. As is written in the Constitution and Council Regulations, the selection of the electronic vote system will be done following high standards and certificates for the security. “So that no fraud can take place during the elections done with internet voting method, any system used must provide the highly known and certified security measures against any kind of manipulation of the voting results. Furthermore to secure that the voting is anonymous, the method used should not allow the internet provider/administrator, or any other third party, to be able to view, the voting choices of a specific voter. The voting must therefore be anonymous and safe.”
A. M. Manara informed the members that a few experts in software were trying to break into the system but with no success. Their main goal was to crack the computer who hosted the software. The computer and the software were safe and they did not go in.
Prof. Bernheim required, for the General Assembly in Milan, in 2009, a description of the electronic voting system and security measures.
The General Assembly approved the proposal.
Prof. Bernheim wanted to see what will be the procedure in order to know if a person voted or not.
Prof. A. Covic described the steps of the electronic vote system. An ERA-EDTA full member will receive a user name and a password generated by the system. Once the member voted, the system will not allow him/her to vote again. During the Congress, at the voting station, the secretary in charge with this matter will have the possibility to see if a member voted or not. Nobody can see how a member voted. It will be not allowed by the system itself.
The President asked the General Assembly to vote for each changed article.
Clause VI 02The General Assembly approved the new content of Clause VI 02.
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There was one abstain.
Clause IV 07The General Assembly approved the new content of Clause IV 07.There was one abstain.
Clause V 04The General Assembly approved the new content of Clause V 04.
Prof. A. Covic concluded that starting with the next ERA-EDTA Congress in Milan, 2009; the vote will be done by electronic system before the congress, electronic system or ballot paper during the congress and ballot paper at the General Assembly. The electronic vote software will have high security measures.
The President thanked Prof. A. Covic for his report and proposed to move on the report of the Chairperson of the Administrative Offices.
08.Report of the Chairperson of the Administrative Offices of the ERA-EDTA, R.Coppo.
Prof. R. Coppo began her report with the information about the membership situation. On January 2008, there were 5233 ERA-EDTA members. The Membership has reached a stable level of more than 5000 over the last seven years. The number of new members is almost stable, as it has been in the last ten years. The trend to leave the ERA-EDTA after some years of membership, which had increased over the last years, is finally reversed, making the balance slightly positive. This indicated that the ERA-EDTA succeeded in becoming more attractive.
Considering members from each country, Germany has the highest absolute figure, followed by Poland, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Greece, France, Japan and Czech Republic which have more than 150 members. The figures over the last years by countries showed a general stability in 2007 in comparison to 2007 Members data. The analysis of the age gives rise to a few considerations: 6,7% of members are less than 35 years old, 24,8% are between 35–45 years, 36,6% between 45-55 years, 24,8% between 55-65 and 8,3% more than 65 years old. About 25% of ERA-EDTA members are Associate members from non European countries or bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
A new reduced membership fee was approved – 50 Euro - for all those persons who already received a subscription to the NDT Journal, thus they do not wish to receive another one, but still want to take active part in the life of the ERA-EDTA.
The total figure of people attending the Barcelona Congress, including exhibitors and visitors was 8311, from which 6572 were delegates. As usual, two thirds of all the participants, taking into consideration the paying delegates, were non ERA-EDTA members. The data from the Barcelona Congress showed a success from the scientific point of view and also from the economical one.
Prof. J. Bernheim opined that the big number of participants that were not ERA-EDTA members is not a good indicator.
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Prof. N. Lameire considered the contrary, that people were coming because of the high value of the ERA-EDTA Congress and not because they were obliged to participate as ERA-EDTA members.
Participants at the General Assembly supported Prof. N. Lameire’s opinion.
Prof. R. Coppo continued her report with the CME Activities.
09. Report of the Chairperson of the ERA-EDTA CME Activities, R. Coppo.
In April 2007, the ERA-EDTA did a poll among their members asking them what they would have liked to receive as exclusive benefits of their membership. Following the results of the poll, the ERA-EDTA decided to give the following new ERA-EDTA Membership benefits:- Annual slide presentation of ERA-EDTA CME Courses: with regard to the 2007 activity, 132 lectures from 20 ERA-EDTA CME Courses were included in a DVD and sent to members (March, 2008).- List of Congresses of interest in the following years, with focus on deadlines for abstract presentation of those in the following six months.- News on laws or regulations at a European level and deadline for European financial research opportunities.
Prof. R. Coppo concluded that the evaluation of the CME courses showed that the success is increasing; the list of the courses is regularly updated on the website. The programs are covered by the experts in the various fields.
The President thanked Prof. R. Coppo and invited Prof. P. Stenvinkel to present his report.
10. Report of the Chairman of the Paper Selection Committee, P. Stenvinkel.
The Chairman of the Paper Selection Committee began his report by presenting the figures for the Stockholm Congress: 1966 abstracts were submitted, 138 free communications, 1035 posters and 793 rejected. The abstract logistics were formed by 263 reviewers from which 245 active. He continued with a comparative analysis of the data for submission and acceptance from 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Italy, Spain, Iran, Turkey, Japan and Germany occupied the first positions.
Prof. P. Stenvinkel thanked all Council Members, members of the Scientific Committee and the abstract reviewers for their efforts.
Prof. A. Covic proposed to send a letter to each author’s poster who was not present during the congress.
This concluded the report from the Chairman of the Paper Selection Committee.
11. Report of the Chairman of the Registry, C. Zoccali.
Prof. C. Zoccali informed the members the Registry’s activity was concentrated on NephroQUEST. The European Commission funded NephroQUEST project started with
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1 September 2007. The list of the standardized clinical performance indicators for data collection within renal registries was finalized. The definitions and standardization will be incorporated in a standards document to be submitted for publication.
The Chairman of the Registry continued his report by updating the General Assembly on the Registry’s plans. He informed the members that a new project, EUGLOREH 2007- “Global Report on the Health Status in the European Union” was funded by EU. Contribution to this report will assist putting nephrology into the agenda of the European Commission. The EUGLOREH report is scheduled for presentation this summer.
The Registry tries to promote a special interest in epidemiology by organizing the Epidemiology courses. These courses presented important tasks and were evaluated as a real success.
This brought the Chairman of the Registry’s report to a close.
12. Report of the NDT Editor-in-Chief, N. Lameire.
Prof. N. Lameire began his report by presenting an overview of the Editorial activities of the Journal. The figures for 2007 showed an increase in the number of submissions to NDT. The number of submissions to NDT in 2007 was 3094 (2150 original submissions and 944 revisions). The number of submission to NDT PLUS in 2007, starting from August 07 was 201 (168 original submissions and 33 revisions). The average rate per day for new NDT submission was 7 and the average overall NDT submission rate per day 10.
The impact factor increased from 2, 97 in 2005 to 3, 15 in 2006.
The Editor-in-Chief continued his report by presenting the evolution of the number of submissions to NDT and NDT Plus by countries and by manuscript types.
This concluded the report from the NDT Editor-in-Chief.
13. Report of the Chairman of the ERBP Advisory Board, R. Vanholder.
The President announced that Prof. R. Vanholder could not present a report because until now the results were preliminary. After one year, at the next General Assembly he will present a report.
14. Report of the Chairman of the Ethics Committee, D. Goldsmith.
Prof. D. Goldsmith, as Chairman of the Ethics Committee, informed the members that the committee is working on the regulation. The first draft was revised by the Council and they are in the middle of the process.
Prof. J. Cannata mentioned that at the pre-congress Council Meeting in Stockholm, the members discussed the draft of the regulation. A series of modifications / completions were suggested and the final version will be discussed at the next Council Meeting.
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15. Venue and date of future ERA-EDTA Congresses, J. Cannata-Andía.
The President announced the date and the venue for the next congress.
The 46th Congress is planned to be in Milan, during 22nd -26th of May 2009. The 47th Congress is planned to be in Munich, during 25th - 28th of June 2010.
16. Election of the Chairman of the Registry for the term 2009 – 2012.Nominated Candidate: C. Wanner (Germany)
Prof. C. Wanner was elected as Chairman of the ERA-EDTA Registry.
17. Election of Ordinary Council Members (three vacancies).
At the Stockholm General Assembly the following three new Ordinary Council Members were elected: G. Süleymanlar (Turkey), D. Chauveau (France) and I. Rychlik (Czech Republic).
18. Correspondence and other business.
There were no correspondences or any other businesses.
19. Date and venue of the next meeting.
The 46th General Assembly will be held in Milan, Italy, May, 2009.
20. Closure.
The President thanked all for their participation.
The General Assembly closed at 11.30 am.
Prof. Jorge B. Cannata Andía Prof. Adrian CovicPresident Secretary / TreasurerERA - EDTA ERA – EDTA
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APPENDIX TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYPROPOSED CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION
(in bold, underlined, italic)
1) Article IV 07
IV - General Assembly
07. Apart from the election of the ordinary council members, as described in clause VI 02, resolutions of the General Assembly shall be passed by a show of hands unless a secret ballot is requested by the Constitution or by twenty or more members who are entitled to vote. In this last case the vote will be by ballot box with each voter providing evidence of his or her identity to the satisfaction of the President before voting. The count of votes will be public and under the direction of at least four members of the Association, who are entitled to vote.
2) Article V 04
V - The Council
04. The Council will consist of: a) Five ex-officio members namely: The President of the Association The Secretary/Treasurer of the Association The Chairman of Administrative Offices The Chairman of the Registry The Editor-in-Chief of the official Journal of the Association And b) Eight ordinary members. The said Council memberships cannot be cumulative and therefore there must at all times be thirteen members of the Council. Council members of the Association may not remain on the Council for more than nine consecutive years, except for the application of clause VI-03 and VII-03. No more than two members of the Council, of these maximum one ordinary and one ex-officio, shall be of the same nationality.
3) Article VI 02
VI - Appointment of the ordinary members of the Council.
02. The list of the candidates will be sent together with the Agenda of the General Assembly to all Full, Associate, Honorary and Senior members of the Association. The election will be made by secret ballot. All those eligible to vote shall cast their votes either at the General Assembly or before the General Assembly by using the internet voting facility, if any, established for this purpose. If the electronic vote is used security measures must be taken, as described in the ERA-EDTA Council Regulations, to guarantee a safe and anonimous election process
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Registered Charity No. 1060134
ERA-EDTA46th GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Monday, May 25, 20097.00 am – 8.00 am
MIC - Milano Convention CenterRoom “WHITE 2”
Milan, Italy
AGENDA1. Opening.
2. Minutes of the 45th General Assembly, Stockholm, May 13, 2008.
3. Matters arising from the minutes.
4. Report of the President of the ERA-EDTA, G. London.
5. Report of the Secretary-Treasurer of the ERA-EDTA, A. Covic.
6. Approval of the 2008 Accounts.
7. Report of the Chairperson of the Administrative Offices of the ERA-EDTA, R. Coppo.
8. Report of the Chairperson of the ERA-EDTA CME Activities, R. Coppo.
9. Report of the Chairman of the Paper Selection Committee, P. Stenvinkel.
10. Report of the Chairman of the Registry, C. Zoccali.
11. Report of the NDT Editor-in-Chief, N. Lameire.
12. Ethical Committee, G. London.
13. Venue and date of future ERA-EDTA Congresses, G. London.
14. Election of Ordinary Council Members (three vacancies)*.
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15. Correspondence and other business.
16. Date and venue of the next meeting.
17. Closure.
* - The following candidacies have been proposed to the Secretary-Treasurer:
- Peter Barany (Sweden)- Michel Jadoul (Belgium)- Markus Ketteler (Germany)- Mahmoud Omar Ashri (Egypt)- Milan Radovic (Serbia)- László Rosivall (Hungary)- Kostas Siamopoulos (Greece)- Soren Schwartz Sorensen (Denmark)- Pieter Marten ter Wee (The Netherlands)- Sandor Turi (Hungary)- Evgueniy Vazelov (Bulgaria)
All Full members of the ERA-EDTA will be able to vote for a maximum three (3) candidates. Starting this year electronic voting will be possible.
Electronic voting will be open from April 27, 2009 to May 15, 2009 inclusive. All Full ERA-EDTA Members will receive, by post, a letter prior to April 27, 2009 with the precise details regarding the procedure to be followed as well as the Username and Password to be used.
Voting on-site in Milan will also be possible: in this case however only the traditional paper ballot will be available.
The voting station, next to the ERA-EDTA Membership Office, in the Registration Area will be open from 07:45 – 18:00 on May 23 and 24, 2009 (Saturday and Sunday respectively).
A valid identification document (i.e. passport of national identity card) of the Full member who wishes to vote must be personally shown in order to vote. Vote by proxy is NOT possible.
A short curriculum for each candidate will be on display at the voting station and also on the ERA-EDTA’s web-site.
Full members can also vote immediately before the start of the General Assembly at 07:00 am on May 25, 2008 in the “White 2” Room.
If a Full member has voted electronically he/she will NOT be allowed to vote a second time on-site.
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LASTNAME ________________________________ FIRSTNAME _______________________ ERA-EDTA N° ________
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE ____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
ZIP CODE _________________ CITY __________________________________ PROVINCE _______________________ COUNTRY _______________________________________ TELEPHONE ________________________________________
FAX ____________________________________ E-MAIL _____________________________________________________
The ERA-EDTA collects and processes personal information to provide you with details regarding the Association and its activities. The above information will be published in the ERA-EDTA Directory of members on our web-site (access to which is restricted to ERA-EDTA members only) and will be used for accounting and commercial purposes by ERA-EDTA and/or Euromeetings s.r.l. in compliance with the Italian Legislative Decree 196/2003. Members can ask that this iformation be changed, corrected or cancelled at any time by contacting the ERA-EDTA Membership Of-fice where also further information can be obtained. Steps have been taken to ensure that consistently high standard of data protection are always in place.The mailing address and/or e-mail address of ERA-EDTA members may be forwarded to third parties whose services might be of interest to you. All requests of mailing addresses and/or e-mail addresses are, in any case, first approved by an Officer of the ERA-EDTA Council. If you would like to receive information from third parties please tick one of these boxes: c YES, I wish to receive only e-mails from third parties; c YES, I wish to receive only post form third parties; c YES, I wish to receive both e-mails and post from third parties.
Registered Charity No. 1060134
Thisinformationwillbeusedtoupdateourfilesas well as the Directory of Members on Internet.
We would appreciate your kind collaboration to help us give you a better service.
You can submit your new address, or contact details, directly online!
Simply go to http://www.popnet.it/eraedta/payment/address.jsp
ADDRESS CHANGE FORMIf you have a different mailing address for correspondence,
or fax/phone/e-mail, kindly fill in the enclosed formand send it to the ERA-EDTA Membership Office
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ERA-EDTA Membership Officec/o Mrs. Monica Fontana Faughnan, Office ManagerVia Aldo Moro, 18I-35030 Bastia di Rovolon (PD)Italy
PUTSTAMPHERE
AIR MAIL POSTCARD
PLEASE NOTICE THE NEW STREET AND NUMBER OF THE ADDRESS
OF THE ERA-EDTAMEMBERSHIP OFFICE
NOW IN
VIA ALDO MORO, 18!
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