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POSTPONED 49TH EDTNA/ERCA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Dear Colleagues & Friends

The year 2020 was supposed to be a celebration of the “International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife”. Unfortunately, it turned into a time in which nurses and all other healthcare professionals have to rise to the exceptional challenges of the dreadful COVID-19 pandemic. In the aftermath of the outbreak of this pandemic the world also changed and we have to get used to many preventive measures and limitations such as wearing masks, social distancing, hand hygiene and bans on social gatherings. This pandemic has induced fear and uncertainty in our lives.

COVID-19 has also made us realize the absolute need for a strong, resilient and sustainable nursing workforce. That is why EDTNA/ERCA keeps the wheels turning and our volunteers are working hard to respond to its members expectations and to uphold the Association’s mission. There are ongoing projects and regular production of new publications. When it comes to events, we have more planned for this year than for previous years.

With great pleasure and honour, we invite you to join us in the first EDTNA/ERCA Spring Virtual Seminar to be held on April 23rd – 24th 2021, in the afternoon. The need to support and connect with the renal healthcare community is what drives us to organise this Spring Seminar. Some of the abstracts accepted for the postponed 2020 Conference will be selected for the authors to present their work during these two afternoons. The Seminar will be opened by a Guest Speaker.

We would like to thank all the industry partners for their continued support, particularly this time when it is an online event.

On behalf of the Host Organizing Committee,

Edita Noruisiene
EDTNA/ERCA President

Dear Colleagues & Friends

Soon after the Spring Virtual Seminar, I am back again to provide you with the latest information. Before I continue, I hope you are keeping well and safe.

As you all know, the COVID-19 outbreak resulted in a series of lockdowns across the European continent and beyond. Because of this, last April the Executive Committee (EC) of EDTNA/ERCA had to make the difficult decision to postpone our 49th International Conference to be held in Ljubljana in September 2020. At the time we were hopeful that we would be able to celebrate it this year and meet you in Ljubljana. Unfortunately, the current global situation is still under the threat of COVID-19, with a soaring number of cases in many European cities and the recent discovery of new COVID-19 variants are already detected in several countries. Uncertainty still prevails. In view of the critical situation, once again, the EC needed to decide on the safest format to celebrate the 49th Conference scheduled for 4th-7th September 2021. We adhere to our mission and are committed to meeting our members’ needs and expectations in these challenging times. It is therefore with great pleasure and excitement that we inform you that the Conference will be held virtually and we are working on it with great enthusiasm.

Although this Conference will be an online event we believe it will offer excellent learning and knowledge-sharing opportunities among renal healthcare professionals from different parts of the world.

The theme of our 49th Conference is ‘Knowledge, Skills & Commitment – Core Elements to Manage Care’. It integrates perfectly with the focus of the last two International Conferences of 2018 and 2019 on ‘Balancing Compassion and Health Technologies’. The next step will be to focus on how to manage care and implement our learning: Learning which we acquire by participating in our well-planned scientific programme which includes educational sessions and workshops. The live sessions will be scheduled to suit all time zones to give all our members the best opportunity to participate.

Similar to our previous in-person conferences, this virtual conference will also aim to be highly engaging with a series of sessions with guest speakers. It will still be a forum for sharing and promoting quality renal research and innovations in practice worldwide. It will be, as all our Conferences, a showcase of the latest technology and innovation in the treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease. You will still have the chance to virtually meet our industry partners at the virtual exhibition to share experiences amongst each other in this new virtual space.

So, there are many reasons to stay tuned for more updates on our social media handles such as our website or our association app!

We warmly welcome you to attend this highly interactive 49^th EDTNA/ERCA International Conference, 4^th-7^th September 2021.

With warm regards,
Edita Noruisiene
EDTNA/ERCA President