Women in Implantology - March 18, 2021
A new year, new expectations, new intentions... and what a year we just left behind us. 2020 was different in so many aspects and, as a self-described positive person, I am looking back at the potential we humans have to adapt to new and challenging situations!
Last year in our WIN community, we were all looking forward to meeting again at our Second WIN Summit at Istanbul's planned destination. It was meant to be a meeting to connect to even more professionals, both women and men, who have gotten involved in our fantastic project!
But then in early March 2020 the whole of Europe started to go into lockdown, and shortly after that, many more places all over the world locked down as well. We were experiencing a situation I would not have been able to imagine—our 'freedom of living our lives' was suddenly put on hold!
'Freedom is not
Nevertheless, we at WIN did not want to call off the meeting we had spent planning months in advance, even if the actual situation made it impossible to travel physically to our meeting point. Many of us started to work from home (even my kids were homeschooled)—a situation made possible by the virtual platforms out there. These platforms allow us to connect synchronously with many people and share our knowledge! Although they have been available for a while, the 'Stay-At-Home' Coronavirus-related situation undoubtedly inspired us to exploit them even more!
The WIN community was similarly inspired. The organizers of our Second WIN Summit proposed to organize the meeting online. When I received this proposal, I was so grateful to know we would continue with our event!
Instead of being a meeting of only 2 days, as was initially planned for Istanbul, the decision was made to spread the lectures over a whole week: starting the online event on September 14th and concluding on September 20th... this allowed us to adjust our time tables to reach as many participants as we could over the globe.
The program included a diverse group of 20 presenters and contributors representing 12 different nations – from Europe, Asia, and Africa to North and South America.
- Attendees chose from a variety of learning opportunities, featuring over 16 hours of lectures and masterclasses, not to mention hours of live Q&A sessions with our presenters. ITI President-elect Dr. Charlotte Stilwell and representatives from Straumann Group provided opening remarks and made everyone feel welcome. On Day 2, WIN Core Group member Prof. Banu Karayazgan spoke on her person journey as a WIN member. Other topics included:
- Master Class in complications management with Dr. Giovanni Salvi
- Master Class in digital marketing for dentists with Jan Haas
- Patient-centered approach in dentistry with Dr. Jocelyne Feine
- Socket preservation techniques with Dr. Laurence Adriaens
- Developing a good pink aesthetic score in the anterior maxilla with Dr. Marlene Teo
After a welcome speech given by Charlotte Stilwell, Gilbert Achermann and Petra Rumpf on September 14th, I was the first speaker to kick off our Second WIN Summit and our first online meeting. Although I could not see anyone, I knew that people were listening to me and I wanted to give it my best. At the end of each session, there was time for Q&A, and due to that, I felt that participants were grateful and curious to know more about the topic that was just presented. Our online crowd was eager to learn, to share and to grow their knowledge! AMAZING SENSATION!
While it is impossible to describe each presentation in detail, I can share that they are available online (here) - you can enjoy them anytime you want, which is also something we all can appreciate about virtual platforms. What I would love to do is to say THANK YOU to all the presenters: Dr. Maja Danecka, Prof. Dr. Banu Karayazgan, Prof. Dr. Yasemin Özkan, Jan Haas, Dr. Ana Carbone, Prof. Jocelyne Feine, Dr. Yurdanur Ucar, Dr. Laura Maestre Ferrin, Dr. Marlene Teo, Dr. Eloana Thomé, Ms. Margot Louw, Dr. Fearika Jordaan, Prof. Dr. Giovanni E. Salvi, Dr. Lauralee Nygaard, Dr. Salma Al Jahdhami and Asst. Prof. Yeliz Cavusoglu Yuce. Also a big THANK YOU to the organizing committee and all the participants. We were honoured to have more than 3900 registrants from more than 120 different countries participating in our first online event. It was a great SUCCESS!
So maybe this is my take-home message from 2020: let us look at the bright side of life and grasp the opportunities that come our way, even if we encounter them through complex and challenging situations! We are all out there to help each other, each one of us in our own way!!
TOGETHER WE CAN ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS!
To also be part of WIN, join us here