ILEP conference cancelled?

As many readers are aware, the three-day ILEP Conference, planned for the third week of March, was cancelled due to the impact of COVID-19 round the world.

The ILEP Conference planned for March 2020 was really two conferences in one. The first half profiled 22 digital innovations being used by ILEP Members and partners in a wide range of field services. The focus was ‘show and tell’ so that people could see the technologies in action. The second half was a combination of presentations and intensive group workshops which aimed to tackle – and, we hope, identify some solutions for – the worldwide problem of loss of leprosy expertise.

Both sections of the conference were seen as high priorities by ILEP Members, and so we all regret the lost opportunity for learning together.

We are, however, discussing options for the future. One is to postpone the conference to ILEP’s scheduled meeting weeks in either October 2020 or March 2021. Another is to learn from and apply what some other organisations are doing in replacing face-to-face conferences with a combination of webinars and interactive sessions. We’ll keep you informed.