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Having said this I have to add that I am embedded in a great team of Council, Section and Committee members, who are creative, dedicated and most eager to invest in a European view on transplantation. It is impossible to recite all the names of you involved in our society but we are very aware of your help.
 

I do welcome our newly elected Councilors Carla Baan from Rotterdam for her second term, Andrew Burroughs from London who will chair ELITA, Josep Campistol from Barcelona, Alan Jardine from Glasgow, George Mourad from Montpellier and Stefan Schneeberger from Innsbruck.
 

In the past decade we all have worked very hard to create an open and accessible society that offers a forum for all professionals in the field of donation and transplantation. We have reached out to all physicians, scientists, coordinators and many others in Europe who are active in the field looking for a better insight through science, clinical best practice and care for our patients.
 

And many of you have responded, participated and supported our goals. Without this positive attitude we would not have been able to develop so much in relative such a short time.
 

ESOT is diverse, and this diversity is a strength. ESOT is an umbrella. The true content of ESOT is generated by its constituency. Expertise is available for every organ in the sections of ESOT. In ELITA for liver & intestine, in EPITA for pancreas & islets, and in the Thoracic Committee for heart & lung. In 2010 we will add our last organ expert group for the kidney.
 

For many years, ELITA, which was chaired by Patrizia Burra, has been very active in the field generating a large number of courses and meetings. Also, the European Liver Transplant Registry (ELTR) that is supervised by Rene Adam and based in Paris is part of ELITA.
 

Only a couple of years old are EPITA and the Thoracic Committee. Both, Thierry Berney for EPITA and Dirk van Raemdonck for the Thoracic Committee are formulating their plans of action and future assemblies. It is important for those of you who work in these fields to stand up and affiliate yourself with these sections.
 

An exciting new movement is ELPAT that was started by Willem Weimar and his initiative group. ELPAT is different and it offers a platform to discuss ethical, legal and psychosocial issues in donation and transplantation. The platform has been very successful and attracted a large number of motivated ethicists, philosophers, lawyers anthropologists to work with transplant professionals. They have named six domains and evaluate important aspects in donation to develop guidelines.
 

An excellent example for a very constructive collaboration in ESOT is our education programme. I am convinced that the education programme of ESOT is the best there is in transplantation. From a broad overview and complete introduction into many important aspects in donation and transplantation of the Hesperis Course, via interactive fellow workshops and postgraduate courses, to finally very specific master-classes. I want to thank John Forsythe and the Education Committee and all of you who have served in the past years as organisers and faculty of this extensive programme that teaches more than 300 individuals per year. A special thanks concerns both Henri Kreis and Max Dubernard who have entrusted their baby Hesperis to ESOT as they now pass on the torch to the next generation.
 

The Education programme is large and still growing. We are at a stage to attract a professional educational lead to better ensure the quality and continuity. Another aspect is funding. Many courses depend now on our collaboration with pharma, and we cherish our mutual partnerships. In addition, however, we have to seek financial support from the Marie-Curie programme of the European Union to reduce the risk of discontinuity due to a financial crisis or re-direction of interest.
 

The visibility of basic science has tremendously increased as a result of our active Basic Science Committee led by Carla Baan. Basic Science is better integrated in our congress, separate travel and major grants are awarded. Also, a very successful Basic Science Symposium in Brussels in early 2009 year in conjunction with The Transplantation Society was held. The fast growing Basic Science Network has become a real asset for our society.
 

Donor shortage remains a major concern. The European Donation Committee chaired by Alessandro Nanni Costa is a new initiative and focuses on the living and deceased donor coordinator and on clinical coordinators. It is an important goal for our society to offer a platform for all those who work in donation and create more public and professional awareness for donation as well as improve the quality and safety of donor organs. Recently, we had a first meeting of 30 coordinators in Juan-Les-Pin to discuss priorities and last Sunday a very well attended pre-congress workshop was held. Next year, the EDC will launch its advanced Triple C course that is dedicated to special skills and tools in coordination.
 

By now you must have heard of the Centre of Evidence in Transplantation. A few years ago, Sir Peter Morris started this exciting initiative to review clinical trials in transplantation with his group of methodologists and statisticians. We both agreed that a collaboration would be a wonderful possibility for ESOT to acquire a knowledge centre and at the same time enhance the visibility of the centre. In the mean time CET has opened a helpdesk with Liset Pengel as a liaison for advice on trials for us and the so-called Transplant Library has become operational which allows you to find relevant trials within minutes through the ESOT website.
 

You may have noticed that we have redesigned our website and it is now our front office and back office. Here, you can find information and apply for membership, grants, courses and find news on events, on the sections and committees as well as job offers. Your membership profile is important to us, as it allows us to mail to you the information that you have told us is relevant for you. It also allows others to find you if they seek collaboration or advice. The ESOT website is now heavily used by many of you and I ask you to help us to improve it where it lacks a feature.
 

A network to promote ESOT is crucial. The Ambassador Committee chaired by Jan Lerut consists of a number of prominent ESOT members who have the task to initiate a membership drive and will translate the benefits of our society to non-members.
 

In this respect, our communication with National Societies is of great relevance. For this reason we organized for the fourth time a meeting with the Presidents of Transplant Societies in Europe or their representatives. ESOT should never be in competition with national programmes. It is our task to find out where we can help and add or collaborate with local initiatives. As a regional society on a global perspective we are in contact with many sister-societies. We now have exchange programmes and grants with the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons. There is also a highly valued collaboration with Latin America, which was initiated from our side by Josep Grinyo.
 

On a global scale we work with the international Transplantation Society although I do think it is time to better define the role and tasks of regional societies versus our global big brother. I am happy to say that we can support the Global Alliance on Transplantation with our ideas and course programme and also, that we had a very successful joint basic science meeting in Brussels.
 

It is the task of the Council to ensure that ESOT sections and committees are highly visible with their activities and have access to funding. As a consequence the chair of each section and committee is a member of the Council and participates in the annual sponsorship meeting with the sponsors of ESOT.
 

We are grateful to all our sponsors irrespective their size and input. When we restructured the society we started the gold, silver, bronze circle system to allow different levels of support. Many courses and grants adding up to € 250.000 per year are made possible due to unrestricted grants from our industrial partners. I do thank them for their continuing support.
 

In the past years as the Secretary of ESOT I had the opportunity to be in the heart of our society. I have tremendously enjoyed the continuous brainstorming, discussions, planning of operations with many of you. I am a builder, so I was in the right position, I suppose. Now, as President of ESOT I will have to take another approach and it is one of my major tasks to better listen, consolidate and secure the large structure and vast scale of activities we have embarked on.
 

It is obvious that the era of the pioneers in transplantation has ended. I am grateful to Prof. Cabrol and Sir Peter Morris that they accepted our honorary membership this year. It is truly remarkable how much involved, persistent and productive both pioneers have lived their life in pursuit of truth and knowledge until this very day. I was struck by the intensity and conviction when Prof. Cabrol reminded us youngsters of his mantra, once demanded from him by the famous French General Le Clerc: Il faut Croire, Vouloir et Continuer. You must believe in it, you must want it and you have to be persistent.
 

I see it as my responsibility with you to attract, stimulate and help the next generation to come of age. They have to bring their own curiosity and a positive attitude. We have to trust them and give them both, responsibilities and recognition: a laisser faire in the positive sense.
 

Good leadership requires vision, patience and the ability to listen. Nothing is wrong with a personal ambition, but it has to be integrated in the common cause.
 

In a leading coalition, not the one in charge, but the ones who know best may say how it should be done.
 

We all stand on the shoulders of someone: our parents, mentors and predecessors.
 

I wish to thank our last President, Ferdinand Muehlbacher for his long period as a treasurer followed by the Presidency. His experience has kept us financially sound and we have prospered. Due to his input we were able to convince the European Commission to embark on a directive that will improve quality and safety in transplantation. Bernard Charpentier as Past President and together with Yvon Lebranchu have led us with the Societé Francophone de Transplantation to Paris, to this very exciting and successful congress of high quality and with more than 3700 participants. I thank you both.
 

I also am grateful to the members of the British Transplantation Society who are so enthusiastic and ready to give us a radiant and innovative congress in Glasgow in 2011 to be then followed by Michael Olausson and his team in Gothenburg in 2013. This continuity feels good.
 

My last words are my thanks to the Councilors I have worked with as Secretary:
 

For their critique, their lenience and openness to all our plans. I wish to acknowledge my personal assistant Jannie Uildriks who has been the backbone and the savior of the Secretariat.
 

Last but not least I would like to mention our executive officer Annalisa Ponchia and also Chiara Parisotto. Annalisa, I cherish the day we met. With your professionalism and enormous flexibility, Mediterranean refinement, amidst all those amateurs we are, you have propelled our society to a high level of professionalism. The Padua office works hard, I tell you.
 

Please, keep up the good work and I am convinced that with John Forsythe as secretary and Hans Schlitt as treasurer we will continue to entertain new exciting projects together with our membership.
 

Members and guests, our society needs your voice and input. In a society, the highest authority and leading is the assembly of the membership. As councilors, we are here to serve you. Governance as such is not very exciting. We have to move on and I challenge you: Take your responsibility and help us to further built and renew our society. Become an active ESOT member, it is worth it.
 

I thank you all for your attention.