Editorial May 2022 – Welcome @Americas

Dear members of Scientific Societies of the continent, affiliated to the Pan American Organization of Gastroenterology (OPGE):

We welcome you to the long-awaited relaunch of @americas, our newsletter where we communicate national and international initiatives related to gastroenterology in our American continent. The COVID 19 pandemic distanced us in various aspects of family, work and corporate life, and in this context, OPGE’s activities were no exception.

The management of Uruguay was affected, delaying our congress, which was held virtually with great attendance and participation from the industry, with an exceptional academic-scientific level, for which I take this opportunity to congratulate Dr. Eduardo Gutiérrez and his directors, since despite the difficulties, they managed to carry out the activities of OPGE, with a transfer of command that allows us from Chile to continue with the development of our beloved OPGE.

One of the initiatives that we want to reactivate is the dissemination and contact with national scientific societies, in which we have been present virtually since 2021 and now we resume participation in national congresses that will be held in person, starting with the this year’s DDW, with a section on “The Best of DDW in Spanish.” In addition, we will have our assembly of OPGE Presidents in person, generating a reunion with old and new friends, which will enhance during the 2021-2023 period those teaching, research and dissemination activities, as well as significant camaraderie.

All this will be crowned by the Pan American Week of Digestive Diseases (SPED) together with the Inter-American Society of Digestive Endoscopy (SIED) in the city of Santiago de Chile, from October 8 to 11, 2023, after having agreed on a change of SPED regulation that grants equal treatment to OPGE and SIED, reflecting a genuine interest in developing gastroenterology and digestive endoscopy in the continent, in a climate of mutual respect between these organizations.

The newsletter, @americas, we hope will be a communication channel for the main national activities, the presence of OPGE-SIED symposia in the activities of each member country, as well as OPGE’s participation in international events, including DDW (American Congress), UEG (European Congress) and WGO (World Congress).

We hope that the relaunch of @americas will enhance the reunion of gastroenterologists from the continent with the activities that are being carried out at the different levels already described, to favor the active participation of all of you in what we hope will be the “beginning of the end of the COVID 19 pandemic” in a gradual process from Uruguay to Peru, with the recent election of Lima, as the headquarters of SPED 2025, and of Dr. Alejandro Piscoya, as President-elect for the period 2023-2025.

Warm greetings

Dr. Arnoldo Riquelme (Chile)
OPGE President

Dr. Pablo Cortes (Chile)
OPGE Vice President

Dr. Edgardo Smecuol (Argentina)
Honorary Executive Secretary OPGE