36 WORLD GASTROENTEROLOGY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2015 Editorial | Expert Point of View | Gastro 2015: AGW/WGO | WDHD News | WGO & WGOF News | WGO Global Guidelines | Calendar of Events DDF 2015 - Reflections on the UK’s Second Federated Conference Cathryn Edwards, MA (Oxon), DPhil, FRCP DDF Programme Committee Chair Torquay, UK The first Digestive Disorders Federa-tion (DDF) conference in the United Kingdom took place in 2012. For 2015 the federation welcomed the Association of Coloproctology for Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI) to the fold so in total we had five member societies from across the United Kingdom. The other member societies are the Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons (AUGIS), British Association of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN), British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL), and the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG). Formal feedback on the second DDF conference held at the Excel, London 22nd- 25th June is yet to be analyzed. On the ground at the event however, the prevailing view seemed to be that federated meetings are worth pursu-ing and that they deliver excellent integrated multidisciplinary program content for all members of the partner organizations, in an era when time to attend clinical meetings in the UK is at a premium. Certainly, we kicked off the meet-ing with a very well attended post-graduate education day on GI cancer (>1,400 delegates) which was orga-nized by the trainee sections of the re-spective societies. That day concluded with a great session on the role of the media, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies in explaining health and disease. The speakers included BBC DDF plenary speakers. Podium Panel. correspondent Fergus Walsh, TV doctor Chris Steele and Ben Goldacre who authored Bad Science (a great read if you’ve not already read it). A successful patient symposium hosted by CORE and the Bowel Disease Research Foundation also took place, focusing on bowel cancer screening and non-cancer priority questions for research, amongst other topics. Tuesday saw one of the highlights of the conference. The DDF plenary was opened with a key note address from Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Eng-land’s Medical Director, who gave us his insights in to the future of the NHS and encouraged us to embrace technology and innovation. Thought-provoking and inspiring lectures were given on the 100,000 genome project by Professor Mark Caulfield; lessons from the theatre of war by Brigadier Professor Tim Hodgetts; and shaping the nationwide scientific agenda by Professor Mark Walport. The plenary was very well attended and received by those present and left everyone feeling inspired.
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