Happy 50th birthday SOE

The European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE) celebrated its 50^th anniversary at its 2007 Jubilee Congress, held in June, in partnership with the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

At the opening ceremony, Zdenek Gregor, president of SOE, welcomed the 4,000 delegates from 90 different countries and spoke of his pride of a scientific programme that resulted from the active co-operation of more than 40 subspecialty societies and supranational organizations.

José Cunha-Vaz was awarded the 2007 Helmholtz Medal for his contribution to both posterior and anterior segment imaging. During his lecture, Dr Vaz spoke of the importance of the invention of the ophthalmoscope saying the discovery "opened the gate to seeing the fundus of the eye".