SICHT.KONTAKTE 2022

This year, SICHT.KONTAKTE will take place in Osnabrück, Germany, from 7 to 9 October. Integrated into SICHT.KONTAKTE is the 67th Annual Conference of the Association of German Contact Lens Specialists and Optometrists (VDCO), the Headmasters' Conference of the Central Association of Opticians and Optometrists (ZVA), the Practice Day of the International Association for Binocular Vision (IVBS) as well as `The Day of Optometry´ conceived by all three associations. Since its founding in 2017, SICHT.KONTAKTE with `The Day of Optometry´ has developed into probably the most important German-language congress for the entire complex of optometry and contact lenses. This year, for the first time after 2019, the event will once again be held as presence conference. With 28 plenary lectures, 19 workshops and an exciting industry exhibition, SICHT.KONTAKTE is the leading professional conference for opticians and optometrists in 2022.

Excellent speakers from the fields of ophthalmology and optometry will shape the congress programme. These include: Christian Meltendorf, Berlin, corneal dystrophy; Farhad Hafezi, Dietikon, corneal ectasia; Stefan Bandlitz, Cologne, structural features of the sclera; Sigrid Müller-Schotte, Utrecht, procedure for abnormalities in the fundus. We are already curious about the presentations of the research awards presented by the VDCO this year, the Gunter-Schamberger-Award and the Peter- Abel-Award. The Gunter-Schamberger-Award was first presented by the VDCO in 1989. Since then, the award has been given to a graduate of a college or university for a scientific paper in the field of contact lens optics or optometry that was written during their studies. The Peter-Abel-Award, named after the co-founder of the VDCO, is awarded annually to a doctoral thesis in the fields of optometry, contact lens optometry and physiological optics that has been submitted as the best by the scientific jury of the VDCO. Since 1995, the Peter-Abel-Award has established itself as a prestigious award for a research paper in the disciplines mentioned. It is open to optometrists, ophthalmologists as well as practitioners and scientists from interdisciplinary fields. A paper by 2021 Peter-Abel-Award winner Neema Ghorbani-Mojarrad from the UK can be read in the current Optometry & Contact Lenses (OCL).

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

In this spirit, I wish you many new insights at this year´s SICHT.KONTATE in Osnabrück.

Your Wolfgang Cagnolati