The ISPD President Prof. Edwina Brown and the ISPD Society Coordinator Miguel Gallardo traveled to Dubai on 17-18 October. They were joined there by the President of the EMAN Dr. Mona AlRukhaimi and Prof Ali Abu Alfa, acting as the heads of the Local Organising Committee for the ISPD Congress 2024, and Mr. Waleed Refaay, from the PCO who will assist us in organizing the best possible congress.

The attendants of the meeting with Dubai’s Mureum of the Future (in the backgroud) which will become a recognisible  landmark for the 2044 ISPD Congress.

The short two-day visit was intense with several meetings with different stakeholders to give a big impulse to the preparations for the ISPD Congress 2024. We visited different locations for the congress and held meetings with the responsible teams of each venue. We were received by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, whose team welcomed us and offered their support in different aspects of the event preparations.

We also took this opportunity to establish the coordination dynamics between the ISPD, the Local Organising Committee, and the PCO: After the meeting, we have already set the calendar with the main steps for the whole process of organising the congress.

We left Dubai after two days with a more clear vision of what will the ISPD 2024 Congress in Dubai look like. Our first congress in the Middle East will be a milestone for our society and will have a positive impact in that region and bring together many participants from all over the world to learn, connect and cooperate for advancing PD and improving the lives of patients.