Alliance for Sight
The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) is the world’s leading community of eye care professionals and has been serving the global community for almost a century to strengthen eye care worldwide. As the representative for ophthalmologists to the World Health Organization (WHO), we are committed to a World Alliance for Sight. We work with over 180 ICO member societies to ensure that no one loses their sight needlessly. Our ICO international programmes are designed to improve eye health for everyone, particularly those in low- and middle-income settings and countries.
Over the lifespan of our new strategic plan 2021-2024 and beyond, the global population will continue to grow, life expectancy is expected to increase, and there will be greater demands on the global community for eye care. At the same time, new treatment strategies will emerge for both common and rare blinding eye diseases, coupled with innovations to provide better care for patients. Technological advances promise to offer novel opportunities to diagnose, monitor and reach those in need, including remote settings.
Throughout, the ICO represents and is committed to the ophthalmologists of the world through a professional and collegial network to share experiences, perspectives and cutting-edge knowledge and skills to enhance eye care delivery to meet patient needs. The broad range of ICO educational, networking and collaborative programmes supports member societies, ophthalmologists and related organizations with the knowledge and tools to respond to community eye health needs for highquality eye care.
Vision is critical at every life stage for our development, interactions, activities, and independence to achieve our full potential. In this new strategic plan, through collective efforts, the ICO embraces eye health promotion, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation to advance world development, overall health and well-being, and quality of life for all. The ICO looks forward to working with all of you.
Neeru Gupta, MD PhD MBA FRCSC DABO Ivo Kocur, MD MSc MA MBA
President Chief Executive Officer
International Council of Ophthalmology
Our ICO Vision
A world in which no one has avoidable vision loss, resulting from the shared commitment of ophthalmology societies, individual ophthalmologists, and those who work with them.
Our ICO Mission
The International Council of Ophthalmology works with the world’s ophthalmology societies and other stakeholders to enhance ophthalmic education and improve access to the highest quality eye care to preserve and restore vision for the people of the world.
Our ICO Values
- Ethical, transparent, and reliable
- Inclusive, collaborative, and responsive
- People-oriented, humanistic, and caring
- Innovative
- Professional and financially self-sustaining
- Committed to learning, thinking critically, and making decisions based on evidence
Offering a global network of ophthalmology societies and ophthalmologists
Originating almost 170 years ago, the ICO continues to represent and serve our members which include national, regional and subspecialty ophthalmology societies. We are committed to responding to our members’ needs and supporting their overall growth and enhancing operations for building accessible and sustainable eye care services for their communities. In particular, we aim to strengthen eye care capacity in low- and middle-income settings to address inequities and pressing public eye health needs. We bring ophthalmologists and their teams from around the world together to learn, share, inspire and engage in excellence and innovation in eye care to secure eye health for all.
Supporting ophthalmologists at all career stages
Our programmes are designed and conducted to support ophthalmologists at every stage of their careers so that they may be best equipped to deliver high-quality eye care to preserve and restore vision for the people of the world. Those studying ophthalmology as well as those engaged in ophthalmology teaching find a broad range of resources including curricula, learning and teaching guides, and clinical guidelines for general ophthalmologists and subspecialists. ICO resources are applicable across various socio-economic settings, leadership and society development programs to support and harmonize the standards of education, eye care delivery, health promotion, advocacy and allocation of resources to eye health around the world.
ICO World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) bringing ophthalmologists together since 1857
Our World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) is our flagship event and is the world’s longest continuous international medical meeting since 1857. It has earned a reputation of presenting high-quality ophthalmic education that builds on evolving research and the knowledge landscape, and the changing needs of all people around the world. Its comprehensive approach in engaging all major subspecialties in ophthalmology, including public health, eye care delivery, low vision and rehabilitation, research and interdisciplinary care has attracted thousands of participants from those studying and practicing ophthalmology, to those building eye care teams and conducting research, through to those seeking specific skills and knowledge, and maintaining their professional growth.
25 years of testing ophthalmology knowledge around the world with ICO examinations
As the only worldwide provider of ophthalmology examinations, we strive to leverage and harmonize ophthalmic knowledge around the world. Through a range of basic, advanced and subspecialty examination modules, the ophthalmologists are provided with a structured pathway to test their knowledge. By passing the advanced examination, along with a local face- to-face examination, successful candidates are awarded Fellow of the International Council of Ophthalmology and can use the post-nominal acronym FICO. As thousands of ophthalmologists have engaged in the examination process to date, we are expanding our network of examination centers to include a growing number of locations in over 80 countries around the world.
ICO Fellowships to enhance skill transfer for excellence in eye care
We provide active support to promising young ophthalmologists from low-resource countries through our Fellowships program that offers a broad range of opportunities to help recipients improve their practical skills, research and expand their knowledge of ophthalmology. ICO Fellows bring the acquired knowledge and skills back to their home countries and participate in programs to preserve vision and prevent avoidable vision impairment. This process ensures education programs and services are tailored to all stages of professional development in ophthalmology.
Placing ophthalmology on the global health agenda
At the global level, the ICO supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals, delivering evidence-based insights and contributing to the global eye health agenda of the World Health Organization. Eye health is closely linked to socio-economic development and eye health advocacy and engagement with our partners and stakeholders remains at the heart of our mandate. Our engagement efforts span from promoting integrated people-centred eye care to ensuring the best quality of life, to positioning eye health in global developmental agendas as the key prerequisite for overall societal growth.
3 ICO Priorities (2021-2024)
This strategic plan framework will support our mission over the next four years. To address global trends in eye disease and respond to needs in eye care, our Strategic Plan is based on a triple aim of ICO priorities, providing a coordinated approach to improving eye care through integrated education, engaged membership and advocacy. We will continue to target our work across the broader ophthalmological space to enhance knowledge and skill-sharing and build capacity for high-quality, accessible eye care with targeted initiatives and tools to transform these efforts into lasting change.
Criteria guiding our strategic decisions
The following criteria guide us in determining the right objectives and initiatives. They support a vision of the ICO that embraces:
- Adding value to member societies and the broader ophthalmology community around the world
- Identifying and addressing gaps through enhanced collective capacity of ICO member societies and partners
- Championing an equitable, ethical, collaborative, people-oriented environment that allows professional and personal growth of ophthalmology community members and their teams
- Fostering regional, national, institutional and individual knowledge sharing and networking
- Integrating the strengths of the ICO network to achieve broader impact
- Undertaking programmes through which the ICO can best contribute to the global community and ophthalmologists during their entire career span, and operating these programmes in a sustainable and growing manner
- Using innovative resources and platforms that help maximise reach and impact
- Ensuring financial and operational capacity and growth for the ICO
- Coupling planning and foresight with the flexibility to adapt to global trends and respond to current and future needs
Education
Goal
To promote continuous learning and skill-sharing and to provide standardised knowledge evaluation for ophthalmologists around the world.
The ICO will continue to deliver and facilitate access to world-class education, professional and leadership development, and knowledge testing. As the global ophthalmology organisation, we are socially committed to ensuring high-quality education is accessible to a broader audience with a specific focus on underserved communities in all countries. The education options are provided in multiple formats such as our World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) and a wide range of targeted education programs for online and in-person learning including ICO Fellowship awards. We aim to keep the content of our educational programmes and ICO Examinations current and relevant, and to ensure our learning-centred approach is responsive to both global trends and local needs. We are committed to supporting member societies and ophthalmology communities in building capacity for high-quality, accessible, comprehensive eye care through relevant tools and resources. We will also continue to build on our programmes with additional continuing medical education opportunities and tools to help ophthalmologists around the world manage information and learn online.
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OBJECTIVE 1
Increase and diversify participation in ICO education and examinations with high standards of quality and relevance.
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Strategies
- Broaden the content and reach of the World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) to serve as the most inclusive international ophthalmology meeting in the
- Ensure existing ICO education programmes are updated and relevant for ophthalmologists and their teams, and create new programmes in emerging areas of knowledge and requirments.
- Ensure that ICO education and examination programmes meet international and national quality
- Leverage advances in technology to provide education in a variety of formats that meet the various needs and learning methods of ophthalmologists around the
- Offer easy-to-access online ICO Examinations for the secure self-assessment of ophthalmologists all over the world.
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OBJECTIVE 2
Support learning and teaching ophthalmology at all career stages.
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Strategies
- Define priorities and directions for standardised ophthalmology curricula that are globally orientated and locally
- Provide guidance and resources for expanding subspeciality training and
- Strengthen and promote connections and support among ophthalmology education programme directors, teachers, and
- Develop a bilateral recognition programme between the ICO and existing and newly created institutional ophthalmology educational programmes, with the aim of advancing international
- Support teaching of ophthalmology teachers and promote ophthalmology relevant teaching and learning tools to ensure that ophthalmologists have the necessary skills for career advancement, innovation and professional growth.
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OBJECTIVE 3
Enhance provision of high-quality eye care by offering clinical and public health resources.
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Strategies
- Develop and issue international recommendations and guidelines for the diagnosis and management of eye
- Develop guidance for more effective translation of experimental and clinical research into knowledge translation and practical
- Form and convene dedicated global expert panels to drive and implement this work to enhance patient safety and quality of eye
- Enhance ICO’s impact on guidance development and communication between sub-specialty organizations.
Membership
Goal
To expand the global ophthalmology community through improving opportunities to network and access to professional development.
Understanding and responding to the needs of our members is pivotal to our work and essential to supporting and jointly advancing our mission. We will continue to support ophthalmology societies and in partnership with ophthalmologists from around the world, continue to grow our global community of interconnected eye health professionals. Building integrated, people-centred eye care will lead to greater engagement and knowledge sharing to enhance productivity, improve patient experience and treatment, and enable the ICO to provide outstanding education and improve collaboration. ICO is an organisation that listens and works in service of our member societies in an equitable, responsive, inclusive, and considerate way.
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OBJECTIVE 4
Expand and enhance engagement, collaboration and communication with and between member societies and the broader ophthalmology community.
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Strategies
- Establish and manage a virtual portal for information and knowledge sharing that supports the global ophthalmology
- Conduct relevant and targeted communications to reinforce the sense of community within the
- Promote member benefits and retention
- Enhance resources supporting networking opportunities and professional development among all
- Promote a code of member ethics that incorporates values such as respect, equity, diversity and inclusion, and reinforce that the ICO does not tolerate discrimination or disinformation.
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OBJECTIVE 5
Support ophthalmology society growth and leadership development
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Strategies
- Provide guidance and resources to support the growth and operations of ophthalmology societies, particularly in low- and mid
- dle-income countries and especially during the early stages of societies’
- Enhance member resources to support future and emerging
- Identify needs and provide support to specific target groups, such as women and young
- Promote and profile ICO member societies and their activities, and facilitate networking and information
- Recognize international leaders and experts with ICO award opportunities.
Advocacies
Goal
To encourage the formation of health systems and an environment that enhances eye health.
ICO will leverage member networks, knowledge and influence to promote eye health and to position it as a top priority on the global policy agenda. We will work in collaboration with related organizations, health institutions, governmental policy making bodies, and other stakeholders whose decisions directly impact capacity building efforts and the provision of accessible, high- quality eye care around the world. Acting as the unified voice of ophthalmology, we will continue to build and lead a World Alliance for Sight to preserve and restore vision for people around the world, with the aim of improving quality of life and advancing global development.
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OBJECTIVE 6
Develop and implement a proactive-evidence-baed global advocacy framework for ophthalmology and eye health.
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Strategies
- Represent and advocate for ophthalmology and ophthalmologists to build capacity for human resources in eye care development, patient care and patient safety, research, and an optimized regulatory
- Promote relationships and collaboration with relevant international, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, institutions and eye departments, industry partners, and related organisations to advocate for global equitable, accessible eye care as a prerequisite of increased quality of life and socio-economic
- Develop and implement targeted strategic communications to reinforce advocacy and build
- Support member societies and ophthalmologists in their evidence-based advocacy and awareness-building programmes for eye health through targeted tools and
- Establish and implement an outreach capacity plan and partnership program with organisations and other stakeholders who are actively engaged in ophthalmology to secure resources for ICO services, programmes and international advocacy efforts.
Strategic Enablers
Responsive and agile approach to members’ needs
We are committed to ongoing communication and information exchange with our members to build on their needs, aspirations, and contributions to facilitate timely, mutually enriching and beneficial support.
Visionary management and innovation
We are driven by listening, understanding, identifying, and assessing the latest developments and trends in eye care, health care and global development to keep our functions relevant to the ever-evolving environment in which we operate.
People to provide strong implementation structures
We highly value our dedicated volunteers, supporters and team members by cultivating a creative, professional, respectful and rewarding work culture that supports the provision of state-of-the-art programmes and services.
Securing and managing resources
We will continue to extend our collaboration and engagement with partners and stakeholders to jointly achieve our vision and mission, and to ensure the best use of resources through their accountable management.
Real-time data and analytics
We have effective mechanisms in place for streamlining our operations, ensuring the ongoing collection of necessary data and information for monitoring and measuring our operations, and periodic evaluations to ensure that we are on track to meet our objectives.
Implementation and Monitoring
The Strategic Plan provides an overarching direction and framework that will guide ICO’s work from 2021-2024. Each area of the organization follows an operational implementation schedule focused on deliverables and achieving our aims at target times. This overall approach emphasizes the efficient use of resources and is aligned with fulfilling our organizational mission.
- ICO Member Societies include 124 National Societies, 8 Regional Societies, and 44 International Subspecialty Member Societies.
- The first ever virtual World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC), WOC2020 Virtual® was attended by more than 7,000 ophthalmologists from 154 countries.
- To date, more than 46,000 ophthalmologists in 84 countries have taken ICO Examinations at our 137 testing centers around the world.
- Since the ICO Fellowship program began, more than 1,200 ICO Fellowships have been granted to ophthalmologists from 84 low resource countries.