Those treaties had a major impact on the life and future of European people. They organized the European Common Market that progressively expanded from 6 to 27 countries. These treaties also resulted in the free circulation of goods and then of persons, in the delineation of common agricultural, economical and social politics, in the establishment of the Court of Justice in Luxembourg and last but not least in common health politics institutions (European Agency for medicinal products -EMEA, European Center for Disease Control..) and common EU research programs in health and diseases.

In their preamble to the treaty of Rome, the members States declared to be determined to establish the basis of an ever increasing unification between the European people and to promote by a common action the social progress of their countries by eradicating the barriers which divide Europe. They also declared to have as an essential aim, the constant improvement of the quality of life of their people and to confirm their solidarity between Europe and overseas countries in order to implement their prosperity according to the Chart of the United Nations. These statements have greatly influenced the creation, bylaws and the present activities of the European Society of Gynecology. (http//www.seg-web.org).

Over the last 52 years, the European countries have thus suppressed their territorial limits, and organized a powerful monetary unified system (Euro).

 They have built a strong economic, geographic and social entity, called the European Community and subsequently, from the treaty of Maastricht (1992), the European Union. European Community means literally in Latina “European living together”. It is therefore also of key importance that ,in Europe, the National and European Medical and Scientific societies join their efforts to improve the Women’s Health Care at all ages of life.
How should this aim be organized?
Today’s Gynecology is confronted to at least three major challenges:

• The blooming hyper- (sub-) specializations lead to the refinement of competence, expertise and treatment skills in many disciplines of Gynecology. This results inevitably in a questionment about the future of our discipline. Is Gynecology today (or tomorrow) a constellation of diverse subspecialties without an integrated concept?
  This evolution causes also a perplexity among patients and practitioners. Who is competent for what, and to what extent? When is one allowed to treat or not a patient with a specific condition? When to delegate the treatment to a sub-specialist? How to teach and learn the discipline?
  
  The European society of Gynecology aims at integrating the various aspects of the Gynecological disciplines, being a platform for the exchange of clinical and scientific information and of key messages arising from the specialized areas of Gynecology, that may be useful to most practitioners. It is committed to serve gynecologists from all areas and disciplines to help them in their daily practice.

• Evidenced based medicine (EBM) and graded Guidelines have progressively emerged as the most useful tools to improve our patients outcome. Formerly the individual clinical expertise and judgment were considered to be the gold standards. This no longer holds true. Not only the patient’s values and expectations are part of the final therapeutic options but the EBM and graded recommendations according to the best available evidence arise as major determinants for treatment.
  
  It becomes therefore extraordinarily difficult for individual clinicians to precisely evaluate the available information, to discriminate between expert’s opinion, case-controlled studies, case series, cohort studies, randomized prospective controlled trials, critically appraised individual  articles (articles synopses), critically appraised topics( Evidence syntheses) and systematic reviews. It is also more and more complex to hierarchize the quality of treatment recommendations. What is precisely the strength of a therapeutic proposal?
             
  The European Society of Gynecology, in this regard is committed to translate the scientific information into EBM based recommendations in collaboration with other specialized Societies For example in association with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) the European Society of Gynecology presently establishes EBM guidelines for the treatment of pregnant patients with cardiac conditions and for the adequate hormonal options in these high risk women.
  It also disseminates and promotes EBM guidelines and recommendations established by other Scientific European Societies in a structured partnership such as the International Menopause Society- IMS).

• How to handle, filter and synthesize the overwhelming amounts of scientific information? For example, Pubmed lists during the last 5 years 38,977 references and 5008 reviews for the keyword « Gynecology ». This would mean that a gynecologist should read daily, including week-ends and holidays,24 articles to remain informed about gynecology!
  The European society of Gynecology is committed to provide its affiliates with important up to date  and integrated messages For example, this week, our Website is publishing  H1N1 A recommendations for pregnant women and the recommendations of the IMS: EBM Cardiovascular safety/risks associated with HT).
  Our website will provide weekly new abstracts pertaining to important new aspects useful to most gynecologists an electronic Newsletter is being launched to help practitioners to stay informed in concise and practical ways.
  Finally, all lectures, presentations, videos, slides… of this and subsequent Congresses, will be displayed on our website as part of our Educational Program.

In summary, if one believes that Gynecology still stands as a unique Medical Specialty, if one is convinced that EBM and graded therapeutic recommendations may result in improved daily women’s health care, if one is conscious of the need of a proper handling of the complex medical information, and if one is anxious to gain access to a continued education in Gynecology, then there is a important role to be assumed by the European Society of Gynecology (ESG).
 Its goals are to develop mutual scientific and clinical collaborations between the European Gynecologists. It aims at sharing expertise between medical and scientific members, and developing teaching and research activities in Europe in all fields of Gynecology. The evaluation of the ethical and social implications of the various domains of Gynecology is also part of our mission. Finally the European Society of Gynecology wishes to promote contacts between the (sub-super) specialties of reproductive medicine among European countries, and to stimulate clinical and biological research in Women’s health Care.

These major goals are being assumed through the organization of European Congresses, through active collaborations with other Scientific organizations in and outside the discipline,  through the development of multi-center trials, and through wide communication networks in and out of the ESG via our website constantly and regularly updated.

The final aim of a Scientific Society is to serve the Medical Community and our patients. Therefore we need you! We appreciate your participation, opinion, and comments. Meet us at our website and during your Congress!

Finally I want to address my warmful thanks to our president, Madame Pélissier. Her dynamism and creativity as well as her long experience are major advantages and the source of our harmonious collaboration. My thanks also to the members of the Board. They spend a lot of time, efforts and display skills and enthusiasm in supporting, up-grading and developing our Society.  Professor A. Genazzani, the President of this Congress, is not only a highly regarded professor of Gynecology in Pisa; he is also an outstanding internationally renowned researcher, a great teacher, an exceptional physician and friend. He constantly displays not only scientific but also exceptional human qualities.

Finally, I address the thanking of our Society to those who contribute to the success of your eighth Congress of the European Society of Gynecology (the Italian Society of Gynecology, our commercial sponsors, our exhibitors, the city of Rome and the Vatican). We wish you a fantastatic Congress, a great scientific event, a friendly interaction between European Gynecologists, an excellent stay in the « Eternal City » of Rome and the Vatican!
Enjoy your congress, participate, make it YOUR success

As such they desired the formation of an European Learned Society concerned with all facets of this wide area of medical specialisation:

• Obstetrics and Surgical Gynecology
• Medical Gynecology and/or Endocrinology
• Reproductive medicine and
• treatment of Infertility, both male and female origin
• Gynecological oncology, embryology, genetics and gynecological anatomopathology (one of the founding members of the ESG, Professor Hoang Ngoc Minh, being one of the distinguished representatives)
• Both benign and/or malin breast conditions
• Scanning for gynecological and breast abnormalities
• Sexually-transmitted diseases.

• One of the main objectives was to gather all European Gynecologists from all fields of expertise and specialities

• The second wish was to exchange experiences and country specific experiences to those of all other European Countries in the same European Learned Society, where each European country would be represented either, on the board, or on the administration committee.

Nowadays, in 2009, in Rome, these wishes have been clearly fulfilled.
The 8th ESG Congress was astounding as much due to the scientific quality of the program as due to its location in Rome.
We have to thank Professor Andrea Riccardo Genazzani’s tireless activity (SEG vice-president) for it. Before this event, 7 previous congresses, in 7 different European countries, gathered numerous eminent scientists.
These congresses have taken place biennially since 1995.

• 1995 Algarve – Portugal: 1st Congress, organised by Professor Agosthino de Almeida Santos (Coimbra, Portugal) Professor Albert Netter’s student and friend, who was, after Professor Philippe Bonchard, our President during four years.
• 1997 Göttingen – Germany : Professor Walter Khun (V), who was ESG President during two years, particularly developed pelvis surgery in our Society.
• 1999 Bruges – Belgium : Professor Karl Thomas (Bruxelles) was also during two years ESG President.
• 2001 Barcelona - Spain : Professor Joachim Calaf took over the charge of ESG President for two years.
• 2003 Rhodes – Greece : Professor Georges Creatsas, from Athens, kindly organised for us this very nice congress, just before Athen’s Olympic Games.
• 2005 Helsinki – Finland : its is Professor Olavi Ylikorkala who introduced the European Society of Gynecology to Northern Europe.
• 2007 Paris – France : Docteur Clara Pélissier-Langbort and Dr David Serfaty. This Congress was also successful as much on the scientific point of view as on the social one.

Albert Netter Days, alternating every 2 years with ESG Congresses, have become more and more important and looked after, as much by Gynecologists attending to it as by the Pharmaceutical Industry which attends in order to present the latest developments in medical Research and Therapies.

It must be remembered that These Days are National and built around a single topic, which is developed during the seminars. One of the Board members is in charge of Organising these days. They aim at tightening the link between the European Society of Gynecology and the National Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics which quite frequently either organise the days or take part in it.
Undisputed European Opinion leaders, and the Ones from the concerned Country are invited to exchange their point of views, on a specific topic, this is done in a friendly atmosphere and with a great consideration of everyone’s opinion. In this way we can benefit from their mutual expertise.

Albert Netter Days, were annual dates that could not be missed in France while Professor Albert Netter was working at the Necker hospital in Paris.
In Portugal, Doctors Clara Pélissier-Langbort and David Serfaty, asked him to let them perpetuate this event for the European Society of Gynecology, which he kindly accepted.
So, it was quite natural that the first ones took place in Coimbra, Portugal in 2002. They were organised by one of his closest students Professor Agosthino de Almeida Santos. The topic was « Proteomics and Genomics in Gynecology » at the heart of the magnificent and ancient University of which  Professor Netter is an Honoris Causa Professor.
After that, these Days were brilliantly organized in Liege, on March 5-6th 2004, by Professor Jean Michel Foidart, the topic, still very relevant, was « Endometrium Bleeding ».

In May 2006, on the theme of the « Ovarian Insufficiency», Professor Joachim Calaf, made possible for us to follow some very interesting and passionate conferences, in the very beautiful  San Pao Hospital, Barcelona.

On the October 31st 2008 and November 1st 2008, in Algarve, on the very place of the first ESG Congress, that the young and talented General Secretary Assistant, Professor Ana Teresa Santos, organized these days. Their topic was « Preservation of female fertility ».

Main abstracts still are on ESG website, as well as those of the days of Liege 2004: www.segweb.org

The next Days were initially planned in Israel. They will be organised by Professor Amos Pines but unfortunately they had to be cancelled will not due to current events happening there. So, they will take place again in Paris on the October 2010 13st and 14th, in conjunction with the 10th European Days of the French Society of Gynecology (October 2010 14,16th), at the  “Maison de la Chimie”.
The topic is « Gynecologic Research in Europe ».
That is to say how interesting this day will be, it will tightened, as provided by our regulations, the links with the French Society of Gynecology but also with the other French National Societies.
So, the goals, set by the 5 French Founding Members: Professor Albert Netter, Doctor Alice Lambert-Netter, Professor Hoang Ngoc Minh, Doctor Clara Pélissier, Doctor David Serfaty, seem to be fullfilled.
General Secretary since ESG’s Creation, until October 2007, I was elected President of the European Society of Gynecology during its 7th Congress.
This was a great pride and joy, and I was also pleased to see Professor Jean Michel Foidart (Liège, Belgium) becoming General Secretary.
Under his impetus, associated with the New Board, great improvements have already taken place, in order to better answer your concerns.

• A Scientific Council, including Young European Researchers (particularly the ones we judged to be the best at the time of the applications to Alice and Albert Netter Awards) among its members. It is a very useful and fruitful Contribution.
• Finally, the website, www.seg_web.og, was entirely redesigned and modernised. It sis regularly updated and it is visited from around fifty countries each week, also quite regularly.
• Links with Major European and National Societies were established.
• The first and second newsletters are available on the website. They concern the current events in all the European countries:
• Newsletter N°1 – January 2009 : European Laws concerning Medically Assisted Reproduction.
• Newsletter N°2 –  May 2009 : Menopause in Europe
• Being prepared : Contraception in Europe in 2009. This Newsletter aims to be used as an information and diffusion media between all Gynecologists in all European countries, about subjects as various as : Laws concerning Ethical issues of our practice, the different ways to Question a Diagnostic or Therapeutic issue, which are quite different in one country or another.

Here, is from what the European Society of Gynecology came, from and what it is becoming. This future will be built by the New Board, under the supervision of the General Secretary. To being chosen to be President of such an organization is a great honour but also very enthralling. Professor Jean Michel Foidart, General Secretary of the ESG, will summarize what he has achieved in our Society, open to all currents in the Gynecological field in Europe and will explain the reasons of this continuity. I wish you a nice congress! Many Thanks to Professor Andrea Genazzani for this wonderful achievement which increases the prestige of the European Society of Gynecology.