Todd Ponsky IPEG Welcome Address ZK 6 10

IPEG (International Pediatric Endosurgery Group) was founded in 1991 by pediatric surgeons seeking less invasive approaches to treating children.

IPEG has held an annual conference where new ideas are presented since its founding 30 years ago.

In the past 12 months, IPEG embarked on a new, more modern direction in response to challenges posed by the current year.

Some IPEG committees met several times a week during the restructuring year, departing from the historical pattern of meeting once annually.

Carolina Milan and Sabine Zane served as meeting co-chairs for IPEG this year.

Matt Clifton and Samir Panda served as meeting chairs (program chairs) for IPEG this year.

The program chairs developed a virtual program for this year and helped create the Calendar of Content Committee to provide year-round content for IPEG members.

The Middle East chapter and Latin America chapter of IPEG have experienced explosive growth with year-round live virtual events drawing huge attendance.

IPEG provides monthly webinars as part of its year-round content strategy.

The Education Committee was charged with making IPEG a resource for surgical information, leading to creation of the IPEG Academy.

The IPEG Academy created an organized library of videos for members by working with all IPEG committees.

The Video Education Subcommittee created a library of step-by-step surgical technique videos intended to become a staple in pediatric surgery training.

IPEG partnered with the Stay Current in Pediatric Surgery app to create an IPEG channel where members can access video content.

The Telesimulation Committee created a first-of-its-kind virtual surgical simulation curriculum allowing participants to learn and practice tasks remotely on training models with evaluation by IPEG faculty.

The Innovative Spaces Committee meets frequently to scan for new exciting trends that surgeons must be aware of.

The Translational and Entrepreneurship Committee was created to teach entrepreneurship and offer support for anyone interested in invention and entrepreneurship, which is often frowned upon by other societies.

Rebecca Rentia and the social media team spread awareness of IPEG content with posts almost every day.

IPEG is changing its partner journal to the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, managed by the Publications Committee.

The Business Strategy Committee was created to help IPEG adapt to new economics of education dissemination.

IPEG's long-term research fund continues to grow and support new research, managed by the Research Committee.