EANM Executive Secretariat, Hollandstrasse 14 / Mezzanine, 1020 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43-(0)1-212 80 30, Fax: +43-(0)1-212 80 30-9, E-Mail: office@eanm.org
Symposia/Debates
On behalf of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, I am pleased to invite you to Italy in 2012 for the 25th Annual EANM Congress in Milan. This will be the second time that Milan has hosted the EANM Congress, the first occasion having been the 1988 Congress, which was the first annual event of our Association following the fusion of the Society of Nuclear Medicine Europe and the European Nuclear Medicine Society. Therefore we shall be celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the EANM Congress, and this is a welcome opportunity to celebrate our story and to look forward to together. We all know that during this period our discipline has undergone tremendous development in the fields of both diagnosis and therapy. Nuclear Medicine has gained ever-increasing importance in the management of many diseases, and nuclear research activities have yielded successful results in a variety of related areas such as molecular biology, radiochemistry, pharmacology, biotechnology, physics, engineering, instrumentation, and preclinical and clinical medical applications. The EANM has played and continues to play a fundamental role in this process. EANM has contributed greatly in promoting the knowledge and integration of our discipline in medical practice, acting as an invaluable source of support in advancing science and education throughout Europe and beyond.
Milan will be an ideal venue for the celebration of our 25th Anniversary. It is a city characterized by the symbiosis of culture and innovation. Once the capital of the Western Roman Empire, Milan has always had the ability to attract human and technological resources. Occupying a privileged position in the valley of Italy’s most important river and offering excellent connections with continental Europe, Milan has retained its role as a major crossroads for commercial, cultural and financial exchange. Artists, engineers, intellectuals, entrepreneurs and researchers have found the city to be a fertile ground for their activities, offering, as it does, a network of expertise in different fields. Today Milan is at the forefront of the Italian economy, acting as a strategic centre not only for the manufacture of industrial goods but also for the production and dissemination of information, values and culture in the arts and sciences. For those wishing to fully understand Milan, the best guide would be Leonardo da Vinci, whose “Last Supper” in Santa Maria delle Grazie church is one of the most visited works of art in Europe. Leonardo left many masterpieces in Milan, such as his Codice Trivulziano, preserved in the Castello Sforzesco, the Atlantic Codex, on display at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, the collection of machine models in the Museum of Science and Technology, and the “navigli”, an impressive network of canals connecting the large cities of the Lombardy plain that was constructed during the Renaissance. Milan is also famous for the Duomo Cathedral, carved entirely from pink Candoglia marble, the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace), the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, the excellent museums, the artists’ quarter, and La Scala theatre. In addition, Milan has a recognized leading role in research, education and creativity; it hosts ten universities offering more than a hundred degree courses in science, finance, technical subjects and the humanities that attract thousands of students from Italy and around the world. As regards Nuclear Medicine, Milan and the region of Lombardy has a very high concentration of general hospitals, research foundations and academic departments that host the most advanced Nuclear Medicine facilities for diagnosis and therapy. Here you can find the highest number of PET centres and cyclotrons in Italy in relation to population. Furthermore, Milan is Italy’s undisputed fashion capital. Every famous “maison” must have a showroom in the “Fashion Quadrilateral”, the area comprising via Montenapoleone, via Sant’Andrea, via della Spiga and Via Manzoni, where it is possible to enter one of Milan’s historic palazzi and to follow in the footsteps of Armani, Trussardi, Krizia and Versace, to name but a few.
In conclusion, Milan, the community of Italian nuclear physicians represented by the Italian Association of Nuclear Medicine (AIMN) and all professionals working in our discipline are honoured to host the 25th EANM Congress, and I am particularly happy to celebrate the 25th Anniversary in the new Milan Convention Centre. This is the largest Congress facility in Italy: it doubled in size in 2005 and is now able to accommodate 25,000 people. It is a multipurpose, modern and versatile space covering an area of 85,000 square metres that is equipped with the most advanced technology and is situated very close to the city centre.
I do hope that you will come in great numbers to Italy, and I am sure that you will enjoy the science, the arts and Milan’s warm atmosphere.
Emilio Bombardieri
EANM Congress President 2012
