Dear Colleagues & Friends,
It is my honor and deep pleasure to welcome you for the 13th Annual 2021 Meeting of the Hydrocephalus Society (The International Society for Hydrocephalus and Cerebrospinal Fluid Disorders). Events of 2020 forced the postponement of the Hydrocephalus 2020 Meeting. The effects of COVID-19 have been profound and have known no borders. Moving forward with our meeting this year requires a different approach from past meetings to allow international engagement and ensure participant safety. For the first time our meeting will be a web-based Meeting.
The International Society for Hydrocephalus and Cerebrospinal Fluid Disorders, now known as the Hydrocephalus Society, was formed at a meeting in Amsterdam, during 2007. The goal of the nine Society founders was to create an international Society that addressed the entire field of hydrocephalus which could broaden the experience created during two previous Workshops. The first official Meeting of the Hydrocephalus Society occurred in Hanover, Germany in 2008. The object of the annual Meeting of the Hydrocephalus Society is to create a forum suitable for those inspired with a passion to understand the hydrocephalus condition, to share information and foster collaboration.
Our Society has grown during these past 14 years. The Hydrocephalus Society has worked with the Society Secretariat (ARTION) since late 2015 to help manage both Society affairs and the Annual Meeting. The “Young Investigator” abstract presentations have become a crown jewel of the Meeting. Our annual Keynote Speakers are exceptional world experts sharing new and innovative research. Our Society has developed a valuable relationship with the International Hydrocephalus Imaging Working Group (IHIWG) which has formally integrated one of their twice-yearly meetings into the program of our annual Meeting. “Fluids and Barriers of the CNS” is the official journal of the Hydrocephalus Society which this year has a Citation Index of 4.470. All these elements will be a part of Hydrocephalus 2021. We will come together during September for Hydrocephalus 2021 with the opportunity to share new information and ideas and we hope that you will join us. The format may be different, but we plan an experience that will be exceptional.
When COVID-19 is eventually defeated and we emerge from the shadow it has cast, we expect in-person meetings will return. However, we also anticipate that what we achieve through a web-based format for Hydrocephalus 2021 will enable us to create unique and robust future hybrid Hydrocephalus Society Congress Meetings which will expand opportunities to both connect and share the important information that is essential for realization of the Hydrocephalus Society’s mission.
Sincerely,
Mark G Hamilton
Hydrocephalus Society President