Category: Industry Informer

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The TLC (Teach. Learn. Connect.) Initiative Launch

The International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE) has today announced the launch of a new initiative to support its members, their students and the contact lens industry, and help reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global contact lens education. 

Teach. Learn. Connect. is a new online education program and communications campaign beginning this month that will supplement IACLE’s existing educational activities as the recovery from the pandemic continues. 

‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Global Contact Lens Education’ survey conducted in May 2020 among IACLE Educator Members worldwide reveals: 

• 71% of their institutions are currently closed to students to attend in person
• 76% expect to provide more online lectures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic
• 87% expect to use IACLE resources more in future and none expect to use them less 

Full results of the survey, with respondents across 32 countries, will be published soon. 

The TLC Initiative will include: 

• A full program of live and recorded webinars on a global, regional and national basis to help educators and students adapt to new ways of teaching and learning.  

• A half-day virtual conference in September to ‘Bring the focus back to contact lenses’. The conference will examine the way forward for education, practice and for the contact lens industry. 

• Our new teaching online platform – IACLETOP – which will become IACLE’s central point to access all IACLE’s online resources and teaching materials. Fifteen webinars are already available on IACLETOP and new resources will be added, starting with an online Student Trial Exam and new tools for teaching and learning practical skills.    

• Opportunities for industry to connect with educators and students worldwide.  

• Communications providing new information to support all sectors during the pandemic recovery, including IACLE’s first social media campaign.  

IACLE’s next series of global webinars will begin on 23 June with ‘Exploring the move to online teaching, learning and assessment’, led by Richard Beggs from Ulster University’s Centre for Higher Education Research and Practice. This webinar will explore how educators can best teach online in a way that encourages student participation. Future webinars will include an opportunity for students to share their own experiences of learning online.  

IACLE President Dr Shehzad Naroo commented: ‘IACLE already has a vast range of online resources and programs and is ideally placed to support our community of educators, students and industry with new methods of teaching, learning and connecting. The TLC Initiative will provide essential resources to help all of us to adapt to the rapidly changing situation, and continue to deliver world-class education to the practitioners of tomorrow.’

Read more about the TLC (Teach. Learn. Connect.) Initiative

Information on all IACLE membership benefits is available at www.iacle.org.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

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Live Lectures

Tuesday live lectures for IACLE members worldwide

Speakers (clockwise from top left) are Ian Davies, Professor Etty Bitton, Professor James Wolffsohn, Dr Shehzad Naroo and Professor Philip Morgan

Need help with delivering your own online lectures?
A refresher on the latest findings on dry eye?
How to adapt contact lens practice to the COVID-19 scenario?

IACLE members around the world are invited to take part in online lectures on hot topics in contact lenses, broadcast every Tuesday in May.

The second in our series of live narrated lectures will run weekly at 12 noon London time (BST British Summer Time) from Tuesday 5 May to Tuesday 26 May on the Zoom platform. Recorded versions will be posted online and will be accessible via Member Login under Video Resources.

Lectures will be a maximum of one hour, including questions from participants, and will initially be conducted in English. A maximum of 100 participants can take part in each lecture, on a first-come-first-served basis.

Topics and speakers are as follows:

Tuesday 5 May
Topic: How to go about a live lecture
Speaker: Ian Davies, Coach and Consultant. https://ianseyes.com/about/

Tuesday 12 May
Topic: Setting up for contact lens success: the tear film and beyond
Speaker: Professor Etty Bitton, University of Montreal, Canada, IACLE Treasurer

Tuesday 19 May
Topic: Contact lens induced dry eye: causes, investigations & management
Speaker: FIACLE Professor James Wolffsohn, Aston University, Birmingham, UK

Tuesday 26 May
Topic: Contact lens practice in the COVID-19 scenario
Speakers: Dr Shehzad Naroo and Professor Philip Morgan IACLE President and Vice President

Links to each live lecture have been sent to paid-up IACLE members in a Special Notice. Recordings of lectures will initially be located under Member Login in the Video Resources section.

Look out for details of more live online lectures to come in 2020.

Information on all IACLE membership benefits is available at www.iacle.org.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

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ICLC2020 goes live

IACLE’s flagship resource – ICLC2020 – goes live today

The International Association of Contact Lens Educators has today announced the release of the latest version of its most valued and important resource, the IACLE Contact Lens Course (ICLC), which is used by educators in institutions worldwide.

ICLC2020 has been fully revised and updated by the world’s leading authorities in contact lenses. The course is now available exclusively to IACLE members via its website. From this year the course will be updated every 2 years to keep pace with the latest developments in the contact lens field. 

ICLC2020 covers all aspects of contact lens education – from the anatomy of the cornea to the business of contact lens practice – in six modules and 33 lectures in PowerPoint format. The course provides educators with the materials needed to teach a high-quality contact lens course, and is also suitable for students and practitioners. A sample lecture is available free via the IACLE website. 

Lyndon Jones, Professor at the School of Optometry & Vision Science at the University of Waterloo, Canada and Director of the Centre for Ocular Research & Education, is among the 27 Editors of ICLC2020. He commented: ‘The IACLE Contact Lens Course is a “one-stop shop” that covers every relevant aspect of modern contact lens practice in a thorough, easily readable manner. I highly recommend ICLC2020 to students and experienced practitioners looking for an up-to-date and comprehensive resource on contact lenses.’

‘Achieving excellence is a continuous process,’ said Director of Educational Programs, Nilesh Thite, who led the project. ‘As we approached the symbolic year 2020, updating the IACLE Contact Lens Course was an obvious step. 

‘The diversity of the topics and the vastness of the information make this a difficult task to execute. However, with outstanding support from the international experts, the course is updated and is ready for you. We present to you ICLC2020 and thank all the Editors for their timely inputs and expertise!’

The previous version of the course – the New ICLC – will now be known as ICLC2015. This version will continue to be available to members in Chinese (Simplified), Korean and Spanish, with some lectures translated into French and Italian. The 2013 version of the ICLC is freely accessible as a student aid and can be found on our website under Free Resources.

Read more about ICLC20 and view a sample lecture 

Access a full list of Editors

Information on all IACLE membership benefits is available at www.iacle.org.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

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2020 IACLE Award Winners

IACLE salutes the achievements of its 2020 Award winners

Contact lens educators from six countries – India, Malaysia, South Africa, the US, UK and Venezuela – are celebrating their success in the 2020 IACLE Awards. The meetings they will attend to receive their awards will be confirmed once COVID-19 restrictions allow. 

The IACLE Contact Lens Educators of the Year – awarded by the International Association of Contact Lens Educators – recognize and reward achievements in contact lens education worldwide. Sponsored by CooperVision, and supported by the American Academy of Optometry, these prestigious awards are presented each year to an individual from each of IACLE’s global regions.

The 2020 winners are: 

• IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year 
Professor Renée Reeder (above left) 
University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Optometry, USA

• IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year
Professor Bariah Mohd Ali (above center)
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 

• IACLE Europe/Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year
Jo Underwood (above right)
Association of British Dispensing Opticians College, Godmersham, UK

Professor Reeder commented: ‘This is such exciting news and such and incredible honor. I am so thankful to know that I have colleagues all over the world with the same struggles who are always willing to share and help. I hope that I can serve as a resource for them as well.’

The IACLE Travel Awards enable IACLE members to travel to international contact lens meetings and are funded by all the Industry Sponsors of IACLE (Alcon, CooperVision, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Bausch + Lomb and Euclid). These Awards are also supported by the Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators and by the American Academy of Optometry. 

The 2020 recipients are:

• Dr Elizabeth Chetty (left)
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Elizabeth will attend the 2021 Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators (AOCLE) Annual Workshop, with kind support from AOCLE.

• Professor Martín Guzmán (center)
Universidad Nacional Experimental Romulo Gallegos, Zaraza, Venezuela

• Associate Professor Nirav Mehta (right)
Hari Jyot College of Optometry, Navsari, India

Professor Guzmán commented: ‘I am immensely honored to be chosen as the recipient of this award, taking into account the times we are currently going through and the relevance of knowledge in the different areas of health, and the potential contribution that we have ahead. It is our duty to continue studying in order to better serve our patients. This award will be fully used for that purpose.’

IACLE President Dr Shehzad Naroo added his congratulations to this year’s winners and acknowledged the support of the sponsors and supporters: ‘Each year the competition for the IACLE Awards gets stronger. Thank you to CooperVision for continuing to sponsor the Educator Awards. We are pleased to be able to offer three Travel Awards too and we have three worthy recipients. We are grateful to be able to make these awards with the support of all our sponsors,’ said Dr Naroo.

Find out more about this year’s Educator Award winners

And read more about the 2020 IACLE Travel Award recipients

Information on all IACLE membership benefits is available at www.iacle.org.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

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Narrate Lectures Worldwide

IACLE to deliver narrated lectures to members worldwide

Members of the International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE) around the world are invited to take part in a series of live and recorded online lectures starting from next week.

The live narrated lectures from IACLE Executive Board members and staff will run daily at 12 noon London time (BST British Summer Time) from Monday 6 April to Thursday 9 April on the Zoom platform. Recorded versions will be posted online and will be accessible via Member Login under Video Resources. 

Lectures will be a maximum of one hour, including questions from participants, and will initially be conducted in English. A maximum of 100 participants can take part in each lecture, on a first-come-first-served basis. 

The theme for the lectures is Building successful contact lens practice, with topics and speakers as follows:

Monday 6 April:
Minimising dropouts and maximising success
IACLE Vice President: Professor Philip Morgan

Tuesday 7 April:
Soft contact lens aftercare
Director of Global Education: Lakshmi Shinde

Wednesday 8 April:
Proactive recommendation of contact lenses
Director of Educational Programs: Nilesh Thite (pictured above)

Thursday 9 April:
Business aspects of contact lenses
IACLE President: Dr Shehzad Naroo

Links to each lecture have been sent to IACLE members. Priority for watching the live lectures will be given to educators, who can then use the recorded versions with their students.

Regional / National Coordinators can invite local groups to watch the recorded lectures in their regions and countries, with their own question and answer sessions.

Recordings of lectures will initially be located under Member Login in the Video Resources section.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

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2019 Fellowship Exam Outcomes

IACLE members celebrate success in Fellowship Exam

International Association of Contact Lens Educators members around the world who were successful in the latest administration of the Fellowship Exam will be receiving their certificates and FIACLE pins as soon as delivery issues during the COVID-19 pandemic allow. 

Twenty-seven candidates are eligible to apply for Fellowship status and use the affix FIACLE, after successfully completing the November 2019 exam and having been IACLE members for at least a year. 

A total of 150 members sat the exam in November: 17 in Americas, 19 in Europe / Africa – Middle East, and 114 in Asia Pacific. China (45) and India (38) were the countries with the most candidates.

All those who sat the exam have received individual results reports. IACLE is currently developing a mentoring program for FIACLEs to support members within their countries to successfully achieve Fellowship.

Director of Global Education Lakshmi Shinde, who is leading the mentoring project, commented: ‘Congratulations to all those successful in the latest administration. We encourage those who were unsuccessful this time to look out for details of our new mentoring program and to re-sit in 2021. All members are welcome to take part in our Fellowship Program and gain recognition for their accomplishments in global contact lens education.’ 

The candidate with the highest marks was Yanru Wang (pictured left) from Tongren Optometry Center at Beijing Tongren Hospital in China. In second place was Minh Anh from Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam. In third place came FIACLE Abdul Halim from ARO Widya Husada, Indonesia. 

Yanru commented: ‘IACLE is my best contact lens learning assistance with a huge range of resources. These materials are easily available online and via emails. Thanks to this exceptional education, I passed the Fellowship Exam and have made great progress in the profession.’

Dr Venkataramana Kalikavayi head of the Ahalia School of Optometry in Kerala, India and his wife Lavanya Kalikivayi (pictured below) both sat the exam successfully in Chennai. Dr Kalikavayi commented: ‘I wanted to share our experience of the Fellowship Exam conducted by IACLE. The entire paper was very engrossing and informative, with thought-provoking structured questions. It covered the entire contact lens curriculum. Congratulations to your team for producing this exam.’

Two existing Fellows successfully re-sat the Fellowship Exam to maintain and update their knowledge: FIACLE Ruben Velazquez (pictured below) from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, who passed the exam for the 10th time since his first sitting in 1996, and FIACLE Abdul Halim who was successful for a second time.

Fellows who have successfully completed the exam more than three times are eligible for the Acknowledgement of Fellowship Excellence Certificate.

Receiving the certificate are the following FIACLEs, all from the Latin America region:

• Daniela Garese (Uruguay)

• Orlando Neira (Colombia) 

• Ricardo Pintor (Mexico)

• Robin Rodriguez (Peru)

• Rolando Rojas (Peru)

• Ruben Velazquez (Mexico)

The next Fellowship Exam will take place in November 2021  

Registration will open in January 2021

Information on all IACLE membership benefits is available at www.iacle.org.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

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Position Statement COVID-19

IACLE Position Statement on COVID-19 pandemic and contact lens use

The global outbreak of the Coronavirus disease COVID-19 has raised questions about the safety of contact lens wear during the pandemic, the precautions that patients should take when handling and wearing contact lenses, and what would constitute best clinical practice by eye care professionals.

Contact lens educators need to be prepared to answer these questions and provide reliable information. While reports in the literature on COVID-19 and contact lenses are still emerging, there are sensible precautions that patients and eye care professionals can adopt at this time.

With nearly 950 members in 79 countries, the International Association of Contact Lens Educators plays an important role in promoting the safe use of contact lenses worldwide. Here we summarize the key points and measures to consider based on current evidence.

Key Points

• There is currently no evidence to suggest an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 through contact lens wear compared to spectacle lens wear. 

• There is no evidence that contact lens wearers who are asymptomatic should cease contact lens wear due to an increased risk of developing COVID-19.

• Contact lens practitioners should remind patients of the key lens-care behaviours which will minimize the likelihood of infection or inflammatory events.

• Practitioners should consider how they can best continue to manage their contact lens patients if access to local clinical care has been reduced.

Measures for contact lens wearers

• All wearers: wash your hands thoroughly using soap and water for at least 20 seconds then dry with a paper towel, especially before every lens application and removal.  Avoid direct contact of water with your contact lenses.  

• All wearers: avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

• All wearers: dispose of your lenses to the recommended schedule (eg every day, every two weeks or every month).

• All wearers: discontinue wear if you are unwell, especially with any cold or flu-like symptoms.

• Users of reusable contact lenses: thoroughly clean and disinfect your lenses each day with the care products recommended by your contact lens practitioner.

• Users of reusable contact lenses: clean your storage case daily and replace regularly.

Measures for clinicians

• Follow the advice of your national regulatory body or professional organization.

• Reschedule non-urgent appointments.

• Reschedule new contact lens fitting appointments.

• Reduce physical contact with patients.

• Use approved personal protection equipment, as appropriate. 

• Disinfect contact lens equipment and trial sets.

• Emphasize the importance of hand hygiene and fully compliant lens wear.

• Monitor all staff for signs of the virus. 

• Maintain social distancing where possible.

• Consider new management strategies and referral pathways where clinical care provision is reduced.

• Actively minimize the impact on the wider healthcare service.

• Remain alert to new findings as they emerge.

Useful References

Fonn D and Jones L. Hand hygiene is linked to microbial keratitis and corneal inflammatory events. Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2020;42:2 132-135. 
Read the full text

Lai THT, Tang EWH, Chau SKY, Fung KSC and Li KKW. Stepping up infection control measures in ophthalmology during the novel coronavirus outbreak: an experience from Hong Kong. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2020 March 3. DOI: 10.1007/s00417-020-04641-8. [Epub ahead of print].
Read the full text

Zeri F and Naroo SA. Contact lens practice in the time of COVID-19. Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2020 March 19. DOI: 10.1016/j.clae.2020.03.00. [Epub ahead of print].
Read the full text

Last updated 26 March 2020

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

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Online resources to support remote teaching

IACLE provides online resources to support remote teaching

The International Association of Contact Lens Educators is reminding members that a wide range of online resources is available for remote teaching during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

IACLE members worldwide have been advised to contact their IACLE Regional / National Coordinators for more information on how to use these resources in their teaching and for additional support. The IACLE Education Team is currently developing a series of narrated PowerPoint lectures as additional support for its members worldwide. Look out for full details soon.

Accessible via Member Login at www.iacle.org under Member Resources, IACLE’s online resources include:

• The New IACLE Contact Lens Course (ICLC)
Six modules and 33 lectures in PowerPoint format
Lectures are available in Korean, Spanish, French and Italian.

NOTE THAT THE FULLY UPDATED VERSION – ICLC2020 – WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM NEXT MONTH. LOOK OUT FOR OUR SPECIAL NOTICE WHEN ICLC2020 GOES LIVE.

We also offer open access to the: 

•  2013 version of the ICLC
10 modules in 55 parts in PowerPoint format
Available under ‘Free Resources’ as a student aid. A selection of slides in German, Portuguese and Korean can be found under Member Login.

• IACLE Case Reports Series
23 illustrated interactive case reports with multiple-choice questions
Available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese (simplified).
These are currently available under ‘Free Resources’ to share with students.

• Research Update
38 reviews of important and interesting papers in peer-reviewed journals
For use in journal clubs and Discussion Forums.

• IACLE Image Collections
Five image galleries
These include the 2018 and 2019 IACLE Image Collections compiled from our Image of the Month contributed by members worldwide.

PLUS Contributed Resources, Videos, Links to Useful Resources and more.

IACLE President Dr Shehzad Naroo commented: ‘While many countries are facing a lockdown situation and most universities have closed already, it is important to ensure that the academic year is not wasted for our students. Members are reminded of the great online resources that IACLE have that could be utilised in these unusual global circumstances.’

FIACLE Dr Fabrizio Zeri and Dr Naroo are publishing an editorial on ‘Contact lens practice in the time of COVID-19’ in the April edition of Contact Lens & Anterior Eye. They outline the current situation on the outbreak and measures to adopt in contact lens practice based on available evidence.

Read the editorial

IACLE’s Special Notice on COVID-19 protections for contact lens wearers

Latest news from the World Health Organization on the COVID-19 outbreak

Information on all IACLE membership benefits is available at www.iacle.org.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

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2020 IACLE Awards

Search begins for 2020 IACLE Educator of the Year and Travel Award winners

Six contact lens educators from around the world will be attending major international meetings this year, as winners of the 2020 IACLE Awards. 

The International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE) is offering educators worldwide the chance to become IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year and travel to the annual meeting of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), Academy 2020 Nashville, in Tennessee, USA (8-10 October). IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year will be awarded to three individuals, one from each of IACLE’s three global regions: 

  • 2020 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year
  • 2020 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year 
  • 2020 IACLE Europe / Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year

These awards recognize and reward achievements in contact lens education and are sponsored by CooperVision with support from the Academy. The winners will each receive a bursary of up to US$3,000 towards the cost of attending Academy 2020 Nashville and permission to use the title 2020 IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year for their region. 

The IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year Awards are open to all IACLE members who have been paid-up members for at least 3 years. Members can either nominate themselves, or be nominated by another member, their IACLE regional / country coordinator or IACLE staff. Applicants must demonstrate use of IACLE resources, engagement with IACLE, impact on their institution and the ways that they inspire their students to become future contact lens practitioners.  

‘Continuous advances in contact lens technology require ongoing evolution in contact lens education,’ said Dr Gary Orsborn, Vice President of Global Professional and Clinical Affairs for CooperVision. ‘We are proud to continue our partnership with IACLE to recognize the educators who never cease to give their students the best possible preparation for a career in optometry – today, tomorrow, and well into the future. We look forward to celebrating those who rise to the top in 2020.’

The IACLE Travel Awards are bursaries of up to US$3,000 allowing IACLE Educator Members to attend international meetings. The IACLE Travel Awards are sponsored by IACLE through the generous support of all IACLE’s sponsors (Alcon, CooperVision, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Bausch + Lomb and Euclid). 

This year there will be three IACLE Travel Awards. Recipients will attend either Academy 2020 Nashville (one award), or the Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators (AOCLE) Annual Workshop (one award) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (28-31 May), or another major meeting to be agreed by the IACLE Executive Board (one award). Academy attendance is supported by AAO and AOCLE attendance by AOCLE.  

‘A dream fulfilled’ is how 2019 IACLE Travel Award recipient Joseph Afonne from Mzuzu University, Malawi described his experience of attending the British Contact Lens Association Clinical Conference in Manchester, UK last year. And 2019 IACLE EAME Contact Lens Educator of the Year Dr Fabrizio Zeri of the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Italy said being chosen for this prestigious award was ‘a great honour’.

IACLE President Dr Shehzad Naroo said: ‘I would encourage all members to consider applying for the 2020 awards or perhaps nominate someone for an award. We are grateful to all our sponsors for their support, to CooperVision for continuing to sponsor the Educator Awards, and to the American Academy of Optometry and AOCLE for additional support.’ 

The deadline for entries for the 2020 awards is midnight (EST) on Friday 28 February 2020. Entries must be submitted using the application forms at www.iacle.org (Awards). 

Information on all IACLE membership benefits is available at www.iacle.org.

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Educating tomorrow’s practitioners

IACLE to play a crucial role in educating tomorrow’s practitioners

The expansion of optometric education worldwide will open up major opportunities for the International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE), which celebrates its 40th Anniversary today.

According to discussions at the Academy 2019 Orlando and 3rd World Congress of Optometry (23-27 October), hosted in Florida by the American Academy of Optometry and World Council of Optometry (WCO), the global need for more optometry schools and skilled personnel points to a crucial role for IACLE in educating the practitioners of the future.     

At the first public presentation of its World Report on Vision, issued last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) told Academy delegates that the shortage of trained human resources was one of the greatest challenges to increasing the availability of eye care services and reducing the prevalence of preventable visual impairment around the world.

The number of people worldwide with myopia was projected to rise from 2.62bn in 2020 to 4.76bn – nearly half the world’s population – by 2050. The overall prevalence of myopia was highest in high-income countries of the Asia-Pacific region and in East Asia, said WHO. 

IACLE President Dr Shehzad Naroo attended a Global Summit on Optometric Education, where delegates heard that meeting eye care needs and ensuring good quality education required a global curriculum, educators to deliver it, and people to lead. ‘IACLE fulfils all these roles in contact lens education and is already active in 79 countries,’ said Dr Naroo.

‘We have the resources and curriculum (IACLE Contact Lens Course 2020), we train the educators (Train-the-Trainer program) and we develop the leaders (Fellowship of IACLE).’  

Dr Naroo also joined the panel for the Joint Public Health and Environmental Vision Section/WCO Symposium: International Optometry: Public Health, Education, and Personnel Issues and, with Director of Global Education Lakshmi Shinde, took part in the WCO’s 3rd President’s Forum: Optometry’s Role in Addressing the Changing Face of Technology, Public Health and Clinical Care.

‘Overall, meetings with WCO were very positive that the IACLE message is being realized,’ said Dr Naroo. ‘IACLE looks forward to participating in the 4th World Congress on Optometry, which will take place in Melbourne, Australia in September 2021.’

IACLE continued its 40th year celebrations in Orlando, the final destination for its interactive exhibition booth on the theme of ‘Exceptional Education. Exponential Impact’. Hundreds of visitors at events around the world during 2019 have made their mark on a time wall of milestones in the Association’s history.

To mark the anniversary, outgoing WCO President Dr Scott Mundle commented: ‘On behalf of the World Council of Optometry, I want to recognize and congratulate President Dr Shehzad Naroo and IACLE on its 40th Anniversary. If it were not for the research and education of IACLE members, global optometry would not have its current stature and success, nor the great future we all hope and wish it will have.’

Read the World Health Organization’s World Report on Vision

Find out more about the World Council of Optometry

Find more information on IACLE’s 40th Anniversary

Information on all IACLE membership benefits is available at www.iacle.org.