Prof. Felix Carvalho, ERT
EUROTOX President 

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Distinguished Colleagues,

Following my succession as President of EUROTOX during the EUROTOX 2021 virtual congress, I am pleased to share with you a few initial thoughts. First and foremost I would like to express my gratitude to the team that, under the leadership of Heather Wallace, worked in an exemplary manner so that we could develop and carry out our planned activities, despite the difficulties created by the pandemic. The success of the virtual congress is only a visible part of the work done on a regular basis throughout the last years, with the precious assistance of our PCO, KIT group. I would also like to reiterate my appreciation to the members of the Executive Committee who have completed their terms of office, Thomas Weiser, Mumtaz Iscan and Emanuela Corsini, and pay a heartfelt tribute to our dear Vesna Matovic, who sadly left us prematurely. She is sorely missed.

On another note, I congratulate the newly elected members of the Executive Committee, Thomas Weiser as the new President-elect, Theo De Kok as Treasurer, as well as Mathieu Vinken and Manon Beekhuijzen as board members. Together with the Past-President Heather Wallace, the Secretary-General Martin Wilks, João Paulo Teixeira, and Mattias Öberg, we have indeed a great team. I am counting on each and every one for all the tasks we have to face during the two years of my presidency, which now begins.

Strategically, the commitment of the Executive Committee and its Sub-Committees and Speciality Sections shall be devoted to strengthening our mission: “To foster the science and education of toxicology, and influence regulatory and policy frameworks to promote the safety of humans, animals and the environment, and protect global health”. We will ensure continuity with previously started activities, notably at the educational and registration levels, in the interactions with our sister societies IUTOX and SOT, and our best efforts will be applied in reinforcing the high standard of EUROTOX congresses, and other meetings and webinars. The strategy will also involve reaching out to EUROTOX partners, such as EMA, ECHA, EFSA and WHO, collecting their views on the impact of toxicology in their respective fields of activity, and how we can reinforce the importance of our discipline to their work. Another point to strengthen will be the communication network between EUROTOX and member and affiliated societies, especially to support toxicology in resource-limited countries, as well as promoting and welcoming equity, diversity, and inclusion within EUROTOX. Presidents of member and affiliated societies will be contacted personally, for their input on how to take these matters forward. EUROTOX should also become a toxicological resource to deal with global safety threats and emergencies. The previously established Steering Group of EUROTOX is just one of the possible ways to implement this objective.

Finally, I take this opportunity to reinforce the invitation to all member societies and individual members to actively participate in the call of abstracts for Maastricht and the calls for scientific sessions for Ljubljana 2023, and for nominations that will be sent out shortly. The success of these events and their reflection of equity and diversity are essentially dependent on your participation.

IUTOX and EUROTOX join forces in Maastricht for the 2022 ICT

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The International Congress of Toxicology (ICT) is coming to Maastricht September 18-21, 2022, and EUROTOX is excited to partner with IUTOX and the Netherlands Society of Toxicology (NVT) to organise this truly international toxicology conference. Held every three years, the ICT spans the globe to unite toxicologists from around the world, and showcase the latest advances in toxicology, and serve as a forum for the exchange of ideas, create lasting partnerships, and lead to measurable elevation of the competency of the toxicologists worldwide. 

The scientific program theme “Uniting in Toxicology”, will address multi-discipline topics, that work together to promote and encourage new techniques and strategies to reduce the risks to human health and the environment. 

The event will take place in the newly renovated Maastricht Exhibition & Conference Centre, or MECC Maastricht; a state of the art congress venue, conveniently located in the city centre, and offering a Multifunctional Foyer to accommodate participants, exhibitors and social networking in a modern and highly technological space. Excellent catering facilities with outdoor seating will ensure a relaxed and pleasant stay.

Registration to the ICT is now open. Let 2022 be the year to unite: come together. Let the ICT be the conference to unify: make research, science and society stronger. 

Join us in Maastricht. 

Prepare your scientific proposals for the 2023 EUROTOX Ljubljana call.

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After a forced hiatus, the 2023 EUROTOX Ljubljana congress is back in the calendar with new dates: September 10-13, 2023. The countdown to the very anticipated event will start with the call for scientific proposals that will go out in early December 1, 2021. The deadline for proposals will be March 1, 2022. As in previous calls, we encourage our members,  industry partners and the scientific community to help us draft a relevant and engaging program by submitting proposals and continuing education courses (CEC) that are informative, inspiring, and present strategies to improve human and environmental health. More details in our next newsletter. 

It's great to be back!