We are now just about two and a half months to the much anticipated APDW 2024 in November 2024 in Bali, Indonesia. We hope to see as many of you at the conference.

At the APAGE level, we have been busy with many diverse activities. Following the strategic retreat in Kuala Lumpur in January 2024, we decided to strengthen our signatures and embark on new areas. Task force on Women and Leadership in GI was set up and helmed by the charismatic Dr Nonthalee Pausawasdi from Sririraj Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. The task force embraced enthusiastically  their role in advancing issues on gender equality, career development and leadership development. The task force recently organized a symposium at the recently concluded TAGE meeting in Bangkok in August 2024. There will be a half day meeting allocated to the group at APDW 2024, Bali, Indonesia.

The Task force on ‘Green and Sustainability in GI’ is being headed by the hard working Dr Tiing Leong Ang from Changi General Hospital, Singapore. Together with his Task Force  members, many consensus statements have been drafted to drive the agenda on this important initiative. We look forward to hearing their presentation at the  APDW 2024, Bali.

The Task Force on Pre-Neoplastic Lesions has been busy meeting to prepare for its presentation at APDW 2024 too.  I would like to commend the enigmatic leader of the group, Dr Wai Keung Leong from Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong.

Other important areas that we are paying attention to include Artificial intelligence. Dr Kaichun Wu from Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Xian, China will be looking at how we can work symbiotically with the World Gastroenterology Organisation, on this. We will also work with many AI interest groups already in existence within our Asian Pacific sphere.

At the very heart of APAGE is our tireless lead for the Emerging Leaders’ Committee, Dr Rashid Lui from Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong. I often confer with him, given the success of this group. We will embark on succession planning as many of their members have matured and forged ahead in their respective sub-specialties.  The natural imperative is to have new younger members recruited into the fold.

In March 2024, along with our colleagues at the Indian Society of Gastroenterology, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the International Society for the Study of Celiac Disease, the 1st Asian Pacific Celiac Diseases Symposium was held in Delhi, India. It was heartening to see so much interest in this important area with participation at the meeting drawn from many gastroenterologists, pathologists and dietitians. Congratulations to Dr Govind Makharia who was the Chair of the meeting and also the Chair of the APAGE Celiac Disease Committee.

‘Danang 2024’ was successfully concluded in April 2024 continuing our education efforts in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. The Vietnam Association of Gastroenterology (VNAGE), our partners in Danang, made the event a truly wonderful experience.  This was the fifth edition of the Clinical Forum on IBD. From this year onwards, the meeting will be held annually. The next edition in May 2025 will be held in Penang, Malaysia. The Danang meeting was also special as it was first time that the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation (JGHF) partnered us to hold a pre-congress workshop for Young Clinicians on research, publication and good clinician skill sets.

Finally, we see the roll out of the newly revamped APAGE website. We hope the format will be more user friendly with updated information and activities. Please go through the website and offer us suggestions to further improve on this. We will also be embarking on social media to further our reach more expediently. Additionally, given the many initiatives and ever-changing landscape surrounding our specialty, we are looking to renew our APAGE logo. Please look out for an upcoming competition to design a new logo to reflect our organization’s continued renewal.

Until our in-person meeting at APDW 2024, Bali, I wish one and all continued good health and success in all your endeavors.

Choon-Jin Ooi
Date: 4th September 2024