Welcome address

Dear colleagues,

It is our great pleasure to invite you to Excellence in Rheumatology, which will take place in Istanbul, on 17-19 February 2011.

Excellence in Rheumatology is a new and exciting development in the world of rheumatology conferences. It will be held on an annual basis rotating among predominantly European cities.

The Conference recruits outstanding international speakers to present cutting edge scientific findings as they relate to clinical practice. Our aim is to provide practicing rheumatologists with developing scientific knowledge that can be applied in their everyday practice. Ultimately, we aspire to be in a position to generate annual state of the art guidance on selected topics. To ensure maximum interaction and networking, the conference is capped at 1.500 delegates.

We decided to launch this novel conference after having identified a number of characteristics not existent in rheumatology conferences today:

Delegates want to see:

a) a more clinical focus
b) smaller conferences, with a right balance of useful, up-to-date content with good speakers
c) a well-organised programme where sessions have minimal overlap
d) excellent networking opportunities

The programme of Excellence in Rheumatology has multiple interactive, practical and networking sessions (e.g. interactive round-tables, practical workshops, meet the expert sessions). For 2011, the conference will follow a 3 day thematic format: Day 1, in inflammatory arthritis, Day 2, in systemic autoimmune disease and Day 3, in co-morbidity.

The conference is mainly addressed to clinical rheumatologists (fully qualified or trainees), some clinical scientists and generalists with a special interest in rheumatology.

In order to enable rheumatologists from developing countries to attend we will be offering a number of bursaries. Further details can be found in the relevant section of this website.

Last but not least, we invite you to submit your abstracts and pursue an active participation in Excellence in Rheumatology 2011.

We look forward to seeing you in Istanbul in February!