ABOUT THE CONFERENCES

The ECFS annual conference provides a forum for all with a common interest in CF to meet and discuss their latest findings. This series of conferences began as the European Working Group for Cystic Fibrosis (EWGCF) with the first official meeting being held in Stockholm in 1970. True to the original tradition of the EWGCF, each year the conference is held in a different European location and is usually of 2 ½ days duration.

The conference scientific programme is put together by an invited scientific committee and includes topics covering the entire spectrum of CF related issues. Invited experts from basic science, clinical and social care give presentations within plenary sessions, symposia, workshops, special interest groups, and round table discussions. In addition an essential ingredient of the conference is the presentation of work following the submission of abstracts from all areas of interest in CF. These presentations illustrate the work being conducted in the multiple disciplines throughout the Scientific and Clinical CF Communities. About 450-500 abstract submissions are currently received per conference. These abstracts are reviewed by members of the scientific committee for acceptance or rejection. A decision is then made on accepted abstracts whether a presentation is best made as a poster or an oral presentation at the conference. Accepted abstracts are published in a supplement of the Journal of Cystic Fibrosis. Young investigators under the age of 35 are eligible to be considered for an award recognising the research work contained in their abstract submission. In addition to the abstracts, case presentations are invited for discussion within specialist fields.

Running parallel with the scientific meeting, the conference venue hosts the meetings of special interest and paramedical groups, and organisations that choose to hold their annual meetings in association with the European conference.
Between 1200-1500 people attend this annual conference representing a wide range of CF professional disciplines. Of these, approximately 80% are from Europe with 20% from countries in the rest of the world where CF is considered a clinical problem.

The annual conference provides a platform for companies with an interest in CF related issues to exhibit their products, meet the delegates, and to conduct their own Satellite Symposia. The ECFS actively encourages such participation and is grateful for the sponsorship it receives from these companies. Such sponsorship is essential in reducing the cost of the meeting to those attending.

The ECFS also welcomes any type of educational grant towards the development of the conference programme, and/or towards the conference itself.

Since 2004, the ECFS has been running another annual conference which is entirely dedicated to basic science. The “New Frontiers in Basic Science of Cystic Fibrosis” Conference has grown on the tradition of the CF Network meetings and are characterised by active discussion of data and ideas at the forefront of research on CF and CFTR, in an informal, co-operative environment. They bring together not only the best of European and International experts, but also post-graduate students engaged in cystic fibrosis research, giving them ample opportunity to interact and discuss science. In 2006, the Conference was held jointly with the The Physiological Society.

The ECFS also organises regular Consensus meetings. This is a forum of invited experts to discuss and draw up consensus papers on issues related to CF at a European level. The final consensus documents are published in the Journal of Cystic Fibrosis. Further details on the history of the Society can be found here [1].