Philippine Glaucoma Congress

I am a member of the Philippine Glaucoma Society (PGS). PGS is an association of 32 glaucoma specialists practicing actively throughout the country. The Society is celebrating its 10th year this year, and to celebrate such an occasion, we held the first ever Philippine Glaucoma Congress. We invited a distinguished group of speakers from abroad, all respectable glaucoma practitioners, including some who wrote textbooks in glaucoma which I used when I was still in training.

I was part of the organizing committee, and the preparations for this event were quite enormous. Starting from inviting the speakers, then in formulating the program, choosing the venue, the logistics, the food, the exhibitors, etc... All in all, the PGS was quite excited weeks before the event. We even have foreign delegates from Vietnam. The excitement turned into anxiety when one of the speakers sent a notice that he would not be able to come. The PGS just coordinated with him, and he eventually sent videos of his lectures.

The meetings before the event became weekly, and our officials in PGS were very meticulous in every detail of the congress. This is the first ever glaucoma congress and we were very eager to make it a big success.

When the event finally arrived, we were so delighted to see that the number of delegate attendees exceeded our expectation of 300 people. Almost all the members of PGS were doing their share of work, from moderating the lectures to "bodyguarding" the foreign speakers. We were also active in mingling with the local delegates, to get their feedbacks and to share their views regarding the congress.

The fellowship night was also success. The band played great music, the food was quite delicious and fulling, drinks were very much available to everybody. The foreign speakers were even dancing on the stage, clearly having a wonderful time. The local delegates were rocking as if in a party, some even became drunk. Some of the delegates stated that it was one of the best fellowship nights they have attended.

The congress has achieved its goal - to demystify the issues of glaucoma. Hopefully this congress is just the start of series of glaucoma congress.

To view the congress webpage click HERE.