Going Virtual: A Notice to Members of the American College of Gastroenterology and the GI Community
June 18, 2020
Dear Colleagues:
After thorough and wide-ranging consideration of the many challenges to safely convene a live meeting this October, the ACG Board of Trustees unanimously decided to offer a virtual educational experience for the 2020 ACG Annual Scientific Meeting & Postgraduate Course.
The good news is that we have identified a powerful online platform with the capacity and features to host a meeting as complex as ours while creating many new opportunities for connection, interaction and innovation. There will be a digital e-Poster hall, new ways to engage with investigators, dedicated live sessions for Q&A with expert faculty, and smaller fora for conversation, networking and learning. Strengths of the new platform include new ways for investigators to showcase their posters, including recording short presentations and Q&A features to engage on the science.
Connection. Collegiality. Camaraderie. Clinical Education. These have long been the hallmarks of ACG’s Annual Scientific Meeting. Those signature events that are synonymous with ACG each year will likewise be central to the digital experience, including named and distinguished lectures, as well as the President’s Plenary session and presentation of all oral abstracts — a showcase of the best clinical research.
We did not make this decision lightly. The Board of Trustees acted with the best interests and well-being of our members and attendees uppermost in our minds. While it is with truly heavy hearts that we must cancel our in-person meeting, we have full confidence in the commitment and dedication of so many in the College to provide the highest caliber programs.
The College is nimble enough to pivot during these challenging times to re-imagine our meeting and to innovate our programs, all the while remaining true to ACG’s core Mission and Vision.
We are getting through this pandemic together, we are reopening our practices, we are getting back to doing endoscopy, and, of course, we are all looking forward to getting together at our Annual Meeting in October – this time in the virtual space. There we will discuss what we are all so passionate about: how to improve care for our patients and our profession.
The ACG has been a beacon throughout this crisis and we will continue to provide you with the information you need to help you navigate the storm. We are here for each other. We are in this together and we promise, we will meet again.
We know we can count on your participation and support for ACG 2020. Please stay safe and well,
Mark B. Pochapin, MD, FACG, ACG 2019-2020 President
on behalf of the ACG Board of Trustees
Frequently Asked Questions and Feedback: Virtual ACG 2020
Many of you will have questions, which we anticipated with a series of FAQs for Attendees, Faculty/Presenters, and Exhibitors. ACG will communicate frequently via acgmeetings.gi.org to keep you updated as we finalize the scientific program. The College and our staff welcome suggestions on what you seek in a digital experience, and invite you to reach out via ACG2020@gi.org with feedback.
