The 23rd annual Congress for the European Society of Gynecological Oncologists (ESGO) was held from October 27th to October 30th, 2022, in Berlin, Germany. This conference was located at the Berlin Messe at Hub 27 and brought together roughly 2,500 attendees from 80 different countries. ESGO featured a diverse set of nearly 100 speakers who presented on more than 60 different topics. Additionally, a special program was designed for young clinicians by ENYGO, the European Network of Young Gynae Oncologists, which included a unique variety of hands-on workshops.
The annual congress also provided ESGO the opportunity to detail seven new ESGO guidelines including those impacting ovarian and cervical cancer. Particularly well received was a debate session on new platform indications for robot-assisted and conventional endoscopy. With technology including robots and artificial intelligence accelerating the pace of innovation in medical science, this debate touched on key issues impacting care providers in the gynecological oncology sector.
Exhibitions
ESGO featured close to two-dozen large exhibitors. Yet for a smaller number of exhibitors than larger congresses, this group more than made up for it with interesting and relevant exhibits and displays. Two of the larger exhibitors were familiar brands, Zejula and Jemperli. Whereas recent congresses were designed to adhere to social distancing and health considerations, ESGO 2022 seemed designed to foster new conversations and relationships between health professionals and the exhibitors.
As ESGO is one of the more intimate congresses, maximizing the opportunity for exhibitors and attendees to interact was key. ESGO solved this by positioning catering tables within the exhibit hall to bring attendees out of symposium sessions and into the hall where exhibitors would garner their attention.
The larger exhibitions were 10-meter by 6-meter (600m2) booth spaces, giving enough space for an attractive exhibit display and for attendees to interact with the exhibitors themselves.
Notable
Additionally, some of the exhibitors enabled their demonstrations or talks via a set of wireless headsets, in the style of a “silent disco.” This tactic is growing in popularity as exhibitors can collect contact details as an exchange for attendee participation. Additionally, competitors are unable to hear the content of a talk, protecting potentially valuable competitive or proprietary information from prying ears.
Another booth leveraged a 3D-printed figurine, iPads, and augmented reality to tell the patient story of the figurine through an interactive experience. This interactive aspect was a strong area of appeal to attendees.
Conclusion
Conference and congress attendees are returning to a reality where in-person events are again the norm. Many conference attendees have shaken off the COVID-era cobwebs of virtual conferences and are back embracing in-person events. Their expectations are sky high as time is finite and making the journey to any event is done with great deliberation.
Next year, the 24th annual ESGO conference will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, September 28-October 1, 2023. We hope to see you there.
By: JoAnne Eaton
Senior Account Manager
