The 2030 IN SIGHT LIVE Congress organised by the IAPB, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, took place from 25 to 27 June. It is the only global forum that annually brings together more than 500 representatives of non-profit organisations (IAPB members and partners), hospitals and healthcare centres, representatives of healthcare administrations from around the world, laboratories and commercial brands to discuss how to ensure that eye health is available to everyone in the world. The event is intended to serve as a catalyst to foster collaboration, share ideas and improve practices and strategies.
This year it was held in Mexico City and, on behalf of Eyes of the world, the director of the Foundation, Anna Barba, and the coordinator of the Eyes of Bolivia project, Patricia Tárraga, attended the 3-day event:
- Meetings of the different IAPB working groups to share progress and propose goals and strategies for the coming year. Eyes of the world is an active member of the Gender group and the Environment group, but also attended meetings of the Refractive Errors, Technology, Indigenous Population and School Eye Health groups.
- Anna Barba participated as a speaker in the session ‘Busting myths about climate change and eye care’ in which the director of Eyes of the world and four other speakers (Ben Murphy from The Fred Hollows Foundation, Fatma Shakarchi from the Red Cross Climate Centre, Luisa Enz from Alcon and Dhivya Ramasamy from Aravind) discussed some of the myths linked to climate change, such as that climate change does not affect eye health, or that Dhivya Ramasamy from Aravind, Luisa Enz from Alcon and Dhivya Ramasamy from Aravind) discussed some of the myths associated with climate change, such as that climate change does not affect eye health, or that it does not have to be a priority, or that small changes do not make a big difference.
- Participation in the AGM – Annual General Meeting – as members of the IAPB to approve the accounts and the addition of new members to the BOARD.
- Meetings and encounters with other representatives of organisations to seek synergies and possible collaborations, as well as to share learning and good practices. From the meeting of IAPB organisations working in Latin America, to contacts with professionals in the sector such as the Brazilian College of Ophthalmologists or retina experts in Paraguay, and also meetings with companies that already support or potentially collaborate with Eyes of the world projects such as Orbis or Johnson & Johnson.
As part of the trip, Eyes of the world also met with the delegation of the Government of Catalonia in Mexico and Central America to exchange information and explore possible synergies and collaborations, for example, in future congresses and/or through Catalan universities.