IFSO-EC regularly organizes congresses for obesity and bariatric surgery professionals from around the world. Events are held regularly once a year. This year, however, the Joint Congress of IFSO-EC and EASO – Zoom Forward 22 took place in hybrid form. Thanks to this format, the congress was attended by more experts, even from countries that are still affected by coronavirus.

An interesting four-day professional and social program was prepared for 362 participants. The professional program included teaching workshops and professional lectures by key leaders. As part of the interactive lectures, discussions took place mainly on the latest developments and research in bariatric and metabolic surgery. Topics discussed included new and experimental procedures, drugs for the treatment of obesity, and legal aspects of bariatric surgery.

Of interest was the symposium, which included a live cooking show, thanks to which participants expanded their skills in preparing nutritionally balanced and healthy meals.
The icing on the cake was a varied social program. The next day of the congress, dinner was held at the Château Neercanne. This castle is the only one in the Netherlands built with terraces and offered participants dinner in a historic area with panoramic views of the valley that separates the Netherlands from Belgium. On the penultimate day, a Closing party took place, for which the Augustinian Church in the city center was chosen.

The virtual part of the congress took place on the ZOOM platform. The congress was fully hybrid, meaning that all lectures and workshops were broadcast online. Participants who could not physically attend the congress therefore did not lose any professional program. During the lectures, they participated in the discussion using the chat function.

The congress included a physical exhibition attended by 18 exhibitors. The exhibition included the Dutch Pavilion, where coffee was served and at the same time information about the Netherlands was presented.

We thank the association IFSO-EC, EASO, all lecturers, participants, partners and exhibitors, but also the implementation team GUARANT International and project manager Petra Závodní for a beautiful event. We are already looking forward to the next, already 11th year, IFSO-EC 2023, which will take place in beautiful Zurich, Switzerland.