IACLE to mark 40 years of Exceptional Education at BCLA 2019
IACLE to mark 40years of Exceptional Education at BCLA 2019
IACLE will be celebrating 40 years of ‘Exceptional Education. Exponential Impact’ with special events at the British Contact Lens Association Clinical Conference & Exhibition in Manchester, UK this month (30 May-1 June).
Over the three days, delegates will be invited to ‘Make Your Mark’ at the IACLE exhibition booth (Stand 6) on a time wall of milestones in the Association’s history. A 40th Anniversary celebration and cake-cutting will take place on Thursday 30 May at 5 pm at the booth.
President Dr Shehzad Naroo will open an International Perspectives session on Thursday at 12 noon with a presentation marking 40 years of IACLE. And the IACLE Awards ceremony will be held on Saturday 1 June at 2.30 pm in the main auditorium, where the 2019 IACLE Contact Lens Educators of the Year and IACLE Travel Award will be presented.
A joint IACLE / BUCCLE (British & Irish University & College Contact Lens Educators) Education Day for contact lens educators and postgraduate students will take place in Manchester on Wednesday 29 May to coincide with the conference. International authorities in contact lens education will speak on ‘Research and evidence base related to our publications and presentations’.
Some of the founding members of IACLE who attended its very first meeting in November 1979 will be saluted at IACLE / BUCCLE Education Day. IACLE’s Founding President Hilmar Bussacker, first BUCCLE Chair Richard Pearson and former IACLE Vice President Des Fonn will describe their experiences of the early days of IACLE.
IACLE will celebrate its 40th year with anniversary events at three further major international meetings during 2019: the Asia Pacific Optometric Congress in Manila, Philippines (17-20 June), the Colegio Federación Colombiana de Optómetras (FEDOPTO) Congress in Bogotá, Colombia (8-10 August), and Academy 2019 and 3rd World Congress of Optometry in Orlando, Florida, USA (23-27 October). Many more national and local meetings around the world will mark the occasion.
Dr Naroo commented: ‘BCLA will mark the first of our celebrations at international events worldwide. We look forward to welcoming old friends, founding members, current members and guests to our events at the BCLA Conference, and are ever grateful to our sponsors and to the BCLA for their kind support.’
-ENDS-
PICTURE CAPTIONS:
Founding members of IACLE (front left to right) Brien Holden, Des Fonn and George Mertz in Monte Carlo, Monaco in November 1979, when IACLE’s first meeting was held (image courtesy of Brien Holden Vision Institute).
IACLE and BUCCLE members – contact lens educators at teaching institutions in the UK and worldwide – will attend Education Day to coincide with BCLA.
For media enquiries please contact:
Alison Ewbank
Communications | International Association of Contact Lens Educators
International Association of Contact Lens Educators
London | United Kingdom
Email: a.ewbank@iacle.org
Work: + 44 208 390 9378 | Mobile: + 44 7732 121 959
Skype: alisonewbank1 | Web: www.iacle.org
NOTES FOR EDITORS
- Over four decades, IACLE has brought together a total of 2,500 members in 91 countries, who have instilled their knowledge to as many as 170,000 students. IACLE estimates that more than 250 million contact lens wearers have experienced the life-changing benefits of contact lenses as a result.
- Click here for full details of all IACLE’s 40th Anniversary events.
- Click here to link to a short video describing the impact IACLE has had on contact lens education worldwide over 40 years.
- Find the BCLA program here and details of IACLE / BUCCLE Education Day here.
- Dr Shehzad Naroo is Reader at Aston University in Birmingham, UK.
- Information on all IACLE activities and membership benefits is available at www.iacle.org.
ABOUT IACLE
The International Association of Contact Lens Educators was established in 1979 and is a non-profit, non-political association. IACLE has 845 (as of December 2018) active members in 78 countries and welcomes contact lens educators from all eye care professions and related disciplines. IACLE is dedicated to raising the standard of contact lens education and promoting the safe use of contact lenses worldwide. It is the leading provider of educational and information resources essential to contact lens educators. IACLE is supported by leading global contact lens manufacturers: Platinum Sponsor Alcon, Gold Sponsor CooperVision, Silver Sponsor Johnson & Johnson Vision, Bronze Sponsor Bausch + Lomb and Donor Sponsor Euclid. IACLE is celebrating its 40th Anniversary with events around the world during 2019.