President’s Welcome

Welcome to the 63rd BAPS International Conference in the historic city of Amsterdam. There can be few more beautiful cities in Europe in which to spend a few days. The network of canals and water ways and the majestic buildings give the city a character that is unique. The newly restored Van Gogh museum and the Rijksmuseum are two stunning examples of what the city has to offer.

This year we have the privilege of co-hosting the conference with the national paediatric surgical societies of the Netherlands (NVKC) and Belgium (BELAPS). We are particularly grateful to Marc Wijnen and Lucas Matthyssens as well as to own team of Mark Davenport, Ian Sugarman, Kate Billington and Shan Teo for organising the conference.

The Scientific Committee have had the difficult task of selecting the best clinical and scientific presentations from a large number of high quality submissions and have assembled a stimulating and varied program. As well as the usual large number of oral presentations and posters this year we have two Stortz lectures and two mini symposia, “Genetics of Paediatric Surgical Conditions” on Thursday morning and “Frontiers in Necrotising Enterocolitis” on Friday afternoon involving state-of-the-art presentations.

The congress facilities are excellent and together with the stimulating programme we hope this is going to be an exceptional scientific meeting for all delegates. In addition we hope you will use the opportunity to see the beauty of the city of Amsterdam in free periods and also take part in the social programme culminating on Friday evening with an informal event at the Heineken Experience.

Hopefully you will find the conference a relaxed and informative experience. Please feel free to contribute to discussions and questions both during the formal sessions and informally at other times. I look forward to meeting many of you soon.