The final timetable for the Conference is now loaded on this site.  Go here

and for details of all of the sessions - go here

The ICCCPO Annual Conference will be held in Berlin, Germany from the 1st to 5th October 2008.  

There will be sessions for parents, and a separate programme for survivors.  

A summary of the planned activities for parents on the various days is below.  

There is a draft summary of the conference sessions as a pdf file - go here, 

   and also a pdf file with the draft of the details of the sessions - go here.  

Both these documents contain details of the survivors programme.  

The ICCCPO Info Market will be held at lunchtime on the Saturday and Sunday.  

For more details of the conference, including registration forms, visit: www.siop2008.de

Local organising committee:  siop2008@charite.de 

SIOP: secretariat@siop.nl 

Please send your abstracts to SIOP directly: www.siop.nl/abstract (not to the ICCCPO secretariat!).

Info-Market in Berlin

Over the years the ICCCPO-community grew from a small family affair to a big family happening. And it is getting harder to keep up on what is going on in each country or region. 

Thus, we started the tradition of the “Info-Market” at the SIOP conferences where you can bring information about your organization and share your experience with others. This also gives nurses and doctors a chance to see the important work we are doing in each of our member organizations.

As the places are limited we ask you to sign up for the info-market (see below).

For the Info-Market we ask you to include the following information on a poster (1 x 1 meter):

·           Name of organization

·           Address

·            National or regional organization

·           How many years of operation

·            Numbers of diagnoses per year

·           Area served

·            Programs in general; please describe your programs with a few words

·           A sample of your brochures

·            Highlight one program you believe is unique, special or works particularly well

You may also bring with you enough copies of your brochures to be handed out.

Please let us know by July 31, 2008 if you would like to present your organization at the Info-Market. We can only serve those who let us know before the deadline.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Gerlind Bode

ICCCPO/SIOP Local Organizing Committee

Gerlind-bode@t-online.de

Conference news from Newsletter 2008 No 1

See you in Berlin!

We hope to see you all in Berlin, Germany, between 2nd and 6th October 2008, for this year’s ICCCPO meeting, along with the 40th SIOP conference.

The Local Organising Committee (including Gerlind Bode on behalf of the parents) is busy getting things organized so that this will be a wonderful experience and a fruitful conference for all. The “program committee” including Anders Wollmén, Anita Kienesberger and Prudence Walker-Cuttance is working hard to create an interesting program for parents and survivors. We’ve included a rough program below, and you can find the “program at a glance” on the SIOP website. We will send updates to the specific parents/survivors program regularly by email through the ICCCPO secretariat.

If you haven’t yet done so, please be sure to register soon and book a hotel room in Berlin. You can do this through MCI (the official SIOP agency) or simply go to the website and find hotels in Berlin. There will be other large conferences in Berlin at the same time - so don’t delay!

Though Berlin is a relatively large city, public transport is very convenient and you don’t have to find a place close to the ESTREL (the conference location) as long as you find somewhere close to an S-Bahn or subway (U-Bahn) stop.

Specific questions about the location can be answered either by the MCI or possibly by Gerlind Bode, though she is not a “Berliner” (gerlind-bode@t-online.de) and questions about the program can be answered by Anders Wollmén (anders.wollmen@bredband.net).

Full details

Registration:   Everyone MUST register online with SIOP this year at www.siop2008.de.

The costs for parents and survivors are:

• Regular Registration, up to 31st August:  400 Euros

• Late registration, after 31st August:  500 Euros

For the first time we now have categories for both parents and survivors, so please make sure you tick the right box.

You can register online at www.siop2008.de.

If you are receiving a scholarship from the Parents Helping Parents Fund, you will be able to register online at the early rate even if you miss the early registration deadline.

Hotels

You can register online for a hotel when you register for the conference. We strongly advise you to make your reservation as soon as possible to ensure you get your first choice. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to find a hotel to suit your criteria.

Please note that room rates in Berlin sometimes don’t include breakfast.

Parents Helping Parents Fund

As usual we are looking to our friends in developed countries to help parents from less fortunate countries. Please ensure that you budget for a scholarship (or two) in the amount of 500 Euros, to help those who need extra help to attend.  Sponsorships for meals and social events are already being sought by other members, groups and companies to make it even more affordable. If your group can sponsor of one of the social events, please let us know – it would be most appreciated.

Poster competition

We would like to receive abstracts for posters on any topic suitable for this visual medium.  There will be a cash prize awarded to the author of the best poster.

Program

We are working on the program and have included our preliminary program here.  However, it may well change, since we are still at an early stage.

Thursday 2nd October

We start our program after lunch with workshops. These workshops will not be at the main conference venue. We plan to have the “Meet & Greet” at the same location immediately after the workshops.

Friday 3rd October

We will have our opening ceremony and opening sessions before lunch and continue with sessions after lunch. In the late afternoon the official SIOP Opening Ceremony with José Carreras will take place.  Find out more at www.siop2008.de. We will launch the “Through my eyes“ photo exhibition, presenting a selection of posters from the last three years’ exhibitions.

Saturday 4th October

In the early morning we start with a new event, “Meet the experts”, for parents and survivors. We will be able to ask general questions to experts on selected subjects (the subjects are not chosen yet), followed by presentations by prominent people. In the afternoon we will have the Interactive Board Session and Annual General Assembly. And in the evening it is time for the ICCCPO Annual Dinner.

Sunday 5th October

On Sunday we are planning joint sessions and there will also be a Board meeting for the newly elected Board. In the afternoon we are trying to arrange a hospital visit at the Charité Virchow Klinikum.

Monday 6th October

A day of joint sessions, ending with a general closing ceremony.

We’ll keep you up-to-date on the program development and sincerely hope you will consider coming to Berlin, present a lecture or poster and fully participate in what is sure to be a very exciting program, both from a learning and sharing perspective.  In the meantime, you can view the ICCCPO preliminary program on-line at www.icccpo.org and the full conference details at www.siop2008.de.

All the best to you and your organisations, as you help children with cancer to survive and thrive!

Anders Wollmén, Chair, ICCCPO Parent’s Program Vice Chair, anders.wollmen@bredband.net

Anita Kienesberger, ICCCPO Parent’s Program, dachverband@kinderkrebshilfe.at

Prudence Walker-Cuttance, Chair, ICCCPO Survivor’s Program, iccsnetwork@gmail.com

Gerlind Bode, Local Organizing Committee, gerlind-bode@t-online.de

Visas:  Letters for a visa can be requested at siop2008@siop2008.de

Important Deadlines

July 31, 2008:  Deadline for Hotel Registration

August 31, 2008:  Regular Registration Deadline

Dates and venue

The conference will be held at The ESTREL Convention Centre, Berlin, Germany.

The conference and workshops begin at 13.00 on Thursday 2^nd October 2008, directly followed by the Meet and Greet. The conference ends on Monday 6^th October.

The workshops, Meet & Greet and ICCCPO annual dinner may be held at another location. Look out for further information in our upcoming announcements.