Minutes Annual General Meeting EFCS vzw

Malmö, Sweden

Wednesday 2019 June 19th Room 5 11am-1.00pm

  1. Welcome by the Secretary General Beatrix Cochand Priollet (BCP) and by the Members of the Board (Henryk Domanski HD; Ambrogio Fassina AF)
  2. Approval of the minutes of the 2018 Extraordinary General Assembly in Bilbao (BCP)
    • Approved by consensus
    • 35 attendees plus 2 invited people (Pr Marszalek Pdt PSP and V Anic Pdt EACC)
  3. Financial balance (AF) 2018
    • Presented the EFCS general structure, overall incomes/outcomes, economic situation
    • Some issues raised by the UK (payment made, but not yet accounted for in the presentation)
  4. Budget -2019, Annual dues
    • Presented the provisional budget for 2019
    • Italy (SCI) society to probably leave the EFCS if they keep inactive (as they have been since many years)
    • Decision to relaunch the late payers (reminder by the GS: national societies who do not pay cannot participate at the EFCS council meeting and cannot vote or take any decision)
  5. Discharge of the treasurer and the board
    • Approved by consensus
  6. Decision concerning the EFCS contribution by European congress organisations: fixed amount/percentage (AF)
    1. Presented EFCS decision to maintain the contribution by congress organisations
    2. Sweden (HD) raised the need for rules about the contributions by European Congress Organisations
    3. BCP agreed on the creation of more specific rules, remembering that Congress Organisations need to include in the budget 10.000 € for EFCS’ tutorials and education
    4. AF requested that EFCS members decide whether or not EFCS should hire one single company to organise EFCS congresses in the future. AF enhanced the advantages of doing that, and, if members agree, to discuss with companies the proposals that were already received;
      • All members in the room agreed and the decision to start hiring companies to organise EFCS congresses was approved.
      • BCP made it clear that EFCS should only organise the Scientific Programme and Invitation of members, leaving all remaining tasks for the hired company.
      • BCP asked members to share contacts or information about the companies they already have experience with.
      • EFCS members will receive the necessary requirements about this.
  7. Legal affairs : information about GDPR. Decisions made in Paris concerning the new law (Belgian code on companies and associations) (LT)
    • Introduction with contextualization of the legal requirements in Belgium and where members can find information about GDPR
    • Announced there is a new Belgian code for enterprises and presented the major changes and their implications (including deadlines, the need to rewrite and approve new EFCS statutes)
    • BCP told the members that some contents are on the website and that the EFCS board is working on the changes
    • BCP warned that members will receive requests to accept or not that their personal information be displayed on the website
    • Suggestion from Cl Bourgain to have a template text on the website for correspondence between members and the EFCS
  8. Congresses :
    1. Preliminary report for Malmö congress (HD).
      • Overall number of participants (623) and brief remarks on the overall (very positive) results.
    2. Wroclaw 4-7th /10/2020 (Poland; J Klijanienko)
      1. JK gave a brief introduction and major information about the upcoming Congress (city, location, preliminary budget, organising committee, international scientific committee, preliminary programme, main topics, companion meetings, social programme)
      2. HD reminded of the importance of involving cytotechnologists and suggested JK shows some information of the Congress during the Closing Ceremony
      3. CKG gave the suggestion to delay the starting time of the first day
      4. GN highlighted the interest that many participants have in Workshops and suggested “mini WS” with dedicated topics and modern technologies; suggestion approved
      5. BCP asked National Societies to invite oncologists/radiologists/clinicians/etc to their sessions, combined companion meetings, best poster presentation sessions (with less free paper sessions)
      6. AF stated the need to establish a scientific committee to evaluate the posters and organize a “best poster presentation session” and decide on the awards; added suggestions on the social programme; idea for a “Mediterranean” companion meeting
    3. Hungary 09-10/2021 (L Vass)
      1. Short information on the Congress; available dates (22-26/9 or 13-17/10); location (Budapest); involvement with other non-pathologist doctors. B Weynand mention a congress of pathology in Belgium October 2021 same dates
      2. Spain raised the issue that dates are strict as per the information on the EFCS website
    4. Other candidacies. Discussion concerning the sequencing of the congresses (every year? alternative every other year with the tutorial? two consecutive congresses and no EFCS congress the year of the ICC?)
      1. Announced the decision not to organise a Congress in 2022 because there is the ICC
      2. EFCS could be more involved in the organisation of the ICC Congress, given no ECC is being organised that year
      3. Currently no candidacies for 2023; 2024 EFCS Congress etc……. in Portugal 2024 ?? (2025: ICC Italy in Florence); BCP ask with urging for volunteers
  9. Education working group :
    1. Presentation of the proposals made during the council board meeting in Paris March 2019 concerning the Quate, Eurocytology, Cytest and tutorials (DVM)
      • Introduction, presentation of members
      • Proposals and conclusions after Board Meeting in Paris: Tutorials, Tests/Exams, Institutional networking, Inclusion of Residents, E-learning and Technologies
        1. To advertise on EFCS website events and meetings organised by national societies
        1. Development of a European Cytopathology diploma/level of competence as well as European recommendations/Guidelines for the training of cytopathologists and cytotechnicians
        1. Training Center List on the EFCS website (ask for candidacies)
        1. Surveys within the EFCS community on educational formats and knowledge assessment
      • DVM motivated National Societies to get more involved with the Educational Committee of the EFCS
    2. Presentation of the next tutorials:
      1. Trieste 2020 (LdB/GNegri/IKholova)
        • 8-12/6/2020, usual scheme (3 days non-GYN, 1.5 days GYN)
        • 30’ lecture, 90’ workshop, 30’ interactive slide seminar
        • Topics – include the addition of soft tissue
        • Some tutors already confirmed
        • 50 participants accepted (pathologists, residents and cytotechs)
        • Low registration fee
        • In the end, QUATE examination
        • Appealed the National Societies to actively advertise the Tutorial to residents of their own countries
        • Asked interested societies to request, as soon as possible, the organisation of future Tutorials
      2. Marseille 2021 (C Bergeron/BCP);
        • Everybody accepts the organisation of this tutorial in Marseille 2021
      3. Switzerland 2022 (MB; L Bubendorf to confirm);
      4. Other candidacies
        • Still no official candidatures, but conversations are undergoing with Spain, and Croatia
      5. Test E Path (AF); comments and participation of A Capitano; P Cross; R Veiga for comments and explanations
  10. Residents’ committee (CKG and RV): summarizing the actions taken since Bilbao and presentation of projects
    1. RV briefly presented the main goals and purposes of the RC and the plans expected to be put into practice soon
    2. Expressed the intention of the RC to attract more residents and young cytopathologists to be a part of the committee and work with the EFCS
    3. Highlighted the RC aim to work in close cooperation with the educational committee and the EFCS boar
  11. Scientific committee (MB): presentation of the actions taken since Bilbao and discussion about future projects.  (All affiliated members should propose scientific projects)
    1. Free paper presentation project on Current immunocytochemistry around Europe; should be now published with some basic recommendations
    2. Concordance/Reproducibility study on Pap smear lesion in cervical cytology (I Kholova)
    3. Concordance/Reproducibility study on NIFTP at cyto/histological level
    4. Appeal to the members to send projects to the committee (MB and CP)
    5. BCP let the assembly know that the projects are expected to be finish during the next year
  12. Information about UEMS (AF); IAC (FS); EACC (V Anic/DVM)
    1. AF presented the plan for the UEMS/EFCS memorandum of understanding, as well as the potential opportunities related to the funding of projects
    2. Erasmus+ project point of situation was also presented; result expected for July 2019
  13. Varia. No varia received