Dear friends, dear ESSR members
We are appalled and shocked by the situation in Ukraine in this unprovoked attack on human lives and values. Consequently, we would like to state our strong disagreement with this situation to those that are responsible, and express our full support to the Ukrainians
ESSR is and has always been an international medical society, open and inclusive. We encourage and heartily welcome radiologists from any nationality, gender or religion that share our scientific values to become part of us. As a European medical society, we strongly believe that our community should be a safe place of health care professionals that promote the interests of our patients, as described in our mission statement.
ESSR stands for academic freedom and we strongly believe that science and academic exchange should be independent of politics. In fact, academic medicine is a great way of bringing people together to share their ideas and experiences. We therefore clarify that our statement is against the politics of the Russian suppressive government but not against our Russian scientific colleagues and members of the ESSR.
ESSR will start initiatives to favor the radiological community in Ukraine, such as special outreach programs, travel grants to guarantee their easy access to education.
Our thoughts and heart are with the Ukrainian people and all those impacted by this devastating event.
Sincerely,
Eva Llopis, president of ESSR on behalf of the ESSR executive committee and the ESSR 2022 congress committee.