Dear Members of the ESNR

The festivities so much beloved by most are imminent, whilst 2023 is edging closer to its end. A few more hectic days and then hopefully some winding down with families, friends and loved ones. In our profession that never applies to all as many will go on working to ensure our patients are safe and well looked after.

A few months ago, we came together in Vienna celebrating our society’s Annual Meeting. A truly splendid venue, innovative format, high scientific level, wonderful organisation and so enjoyable that it will no doubt stay in our memory for a very long time. We have to thank Majda Thurnher, the ESNR Scientific Committee, the local Organising Committee and the Central Office for this extraordinary achievement.

This ESNR meeting witnessed the multilevel engagement I mentioned in my letter to you last year.

The 1st Presidential Institutional Council meeting, attended by 26 presidents and chaired by Paulina Due-Tønnessen, was a landmark meeting which laid the foundation for a newly invigorated partnership between these societies and the ESNR.

Engagement with our neuroscience partners is key, and we were delighted to have hosted the 1st three-partite meeting of the EAN, EANS and ESNR in which all 3 societies agreed to jointly address defined issues which are important to all of us on a clinical as well as a professional-political level.

A key novel era of engagement started with our younger members in the shape of the ESNRise, headed by Andrea Rossi, our Vice-President. The newly established ESNRise Committee is already sprawling with activities and there is no doubt that we will be hearing more from them in the very near future.

Our engagement with the ESR is being reshaped to join forces and make use of the existing expertise and expand it to the relevant areas in neuroradiology. Marion Smits and Nuria Bargallo, elected ESR committee chairs and Minerva Becker, member of the ESR Board of Directors play a key role in enhancing the communication and collaboration between ESR and ESNR.

Another key development in which ESNR broke new ground was the establishing of a Green Committee, chaired by Alex Rovira and Douraied Ben Salem, to contribute to the protection of our environment. The impact of such endeavours is magnified when expanded to a global level. It is therefore inspirational to see that ASNR is developing appropriate structures, thereby enabling both societies to join forces in an area especially critical to future generations.

Our educational activities in terms of courses and webinars have been successful as ever, and have even further expanded with innovative courses such as the very successful Summer School. As exciting are the new developments planned in 2024, which include a new Basic Course in Neuroradiology, a Neurovascular Imaging course, and an Emergency Neuroradiology course.

Paediatric neuroradiology has always been a special focus of our society; it is therefore a particular pleasure that the 1st European Paediatric Neuroradiology Congress co-organised with the European Society of Pediatric Radiology, in partnership with the Hungarian Society of Neuroradiology and the Hungarian Society of Pediatric Radiology, will take place in Budapest from 13-16 November, 2024; surely a must for anyone with an interest in this key area of our specialty.

A lot was achieved in 2023, and there is no doubt that 2024 will be as busy and at least as successful as its predecessor. Key is your engagement; I hope that these developments show that there are vast areas you could engage in, and we all do hope you will.

With the Executive Committee of the ESNR, I wish you all an enjoyable festive season, a very merry Christmas, and a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year 2024.

Tarek Yousry

Professor of Neuroradiology
President of the ESNR