IUGA Meeting 2023 - Welcome and Presidential Address

IUGA Meeting 2023 was kicked off by IUGA President Fred Milani MD, PhD in The Hague, who was thrilled to be hosting the IUGA family in his home country of the Netherlands. He started the meeting off by thanking the hundreds of volunteers who worked to make the meeting possible and the industry sponsors. He presented the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023 to his previous mentor Dr. Mark Vierhout. He was the first professor of urogynecology in the Netherlands and has contributed significantly to the field. Dr. Jorge Haddad then presented Dr. Willy Davila with last year's 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award and highlighted his accomplishments, including founding FIUGA. Dr. Milani then presented the "Queen of IUGA" Dr. Ranee Thakar, with the Distinguished Service Award. She is also the current president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in the UK.

He invited everyone to celebrate the 48th anniversary of IUGA founded by Axel Sundberg and Jack Robertson, which now has an astounding 3300 members worldwide. On a personal note, he wanted to draw attention to the importance of working together in a diverse team to help meet the needs of everyone and improve workplace outcomes. He experienced this diversity and teamwork while working together with the IUGA board this year to further the cause. He stressed the importance of inclusion and cautioned about too much focus on labels. He is proud of IUGA and the respect and dignity that its members show one another.