The ESCRS (European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons) is one of the most important international scientific forums on cataracts and refractive surgery. It is being held from September 6-10 at the Fira de Barcelona and Eyes of the world will be there.
The Foundation is a social entity supported by the ESCRS Charity Committee in its surgical treatment of cataracts in Inhambane province in Mozambique, integrating a gender perspective and encouraging the training of local professionals to promote quality ophthalmological services and strengthen the local health system to ensure that the activities are sustainable and to increase the effectiveness of the interventions.
During the Congress, Eyes of the world, linked to the organisation, will take part in a series of initiatives:
- The director, Anna Barba, will take part in the symposium Leadership & Mentorship in an Inclusive Society within the framework of the ESCRS BOSS Track programme, to speak about how the Foundation views the key question of how to overcome gender inequality in access to cataract surgery in our projects.
- Anna will also participate in the symposium organized by Orbis on Democratising Cataract Surgery Training in Low- and Middle-Income Countries and will present the Foundation’s initiatives in Bolivia for training in cataract surgery.
- Two main art works of the Eyes of the world solidarity art fund will also be on the ESCRS stand. Graphic art by renowned international artists such as Miquel Barceló and Antoni Tàpies will be on sale to raise funds for the Foundation’s projects.
- The Foundation will also take part in two networking events (Charity Networking Event and Education Networking Event) in which our mission and proposals for maximising impact will be outlined.
- Eyes of the world will also benefit from various musical, sporting and other events that will take place in the context of the Congress.
- Finally, the Foundation, with the support of Alcon, will have a prominent stand where it will state its commitment to improving people’s visual health through the Gaze Machine initiative: your gaze, their vision, a digital art project involving the digital artist Solimán López. The project will turn the gaze of people who attend the stand into a digital work of art which will also be transformed into surgical interventions that will restore the sight of people with cataracts in Mozambique. For each gaze captured by the camera, Alcon will pay for one surgical operation, up to a total of 240.
From our headquarters in Barcelona, we welcome with enthusiasm and commitment this Congress that will help us to move forward in the fight against avoidable blindness.