Prof.  Amel Meddeb Ouertani (left) and Dr. Ivo Kocur, ICO Chief Executive Officer (right).

The recipient of the Mark Tso Golden Apple Award for the Middle East – Africa Region is Professor Amel Meddeb Ouertani from Tunisia.  She is Founding President of the Tunisian Society of Aerospace Medicine, the Middle East Africa Women in Ophthalmology Society, Middle East African Glaucoma Society, the MEACO Francophone Group and former President of the Tunisian Ophthalmological Society. She served as Head of the Ophthalmic Department at Charles Nicolle University Hospital where she trained hundreds of Tunisian ophthalmology residents and physicians and technicians from many countries in the region and where she served as the director of the Tunisian-Japanese research program with Nagasaki University. She organized comprehensive teaching programs, wet labs and hands on training in several countries.

Professor Ouertani served as President of the Tunisian College of Ophthalmology and organized several MEACO and Nadi Al Bassar Congresses. Dr Ouertani served as Tunisian national coordinator for prevention of blindness and member of WHO VISION 2020 monitoring committee. She also served as member of the ICO Board Advisory Committee and the AAO Global Outreach Committee. She received several national, regional and international awards and the Order of Commander of the Republic of Tunisia. Currently she is Executive Vice-President of MEACO, President of the Middle East African Glaucoma Society “MEAGS”, and Scientific Director of “Nadi Al Bassar”, a leading eye care nongovernmental organization in the region.

The ICO Mark Tso Golden Apple Award is presented every other year to an ophthalmologist doing outstanding work in regional training who is recognized for innovation and leadership in ophthalmic education. Professor Mark Tso was the ICO Vice President 1998—2006 and served as Director for Education until 2012. His dedication to ophthalmic education is honoured by the ICO through this award.