WCPD 2021 goes virtual

Due to increasing uncertainty about the pandemic, the recent spike in case numbers in the UK, and the continuing UK government requirements for quarantine for travellers from abroad despite vaccination passports, the WCPD 2021 will now take place fully virtually. Delegates who have purchased an in-person registration will be automatically refunded the difference between in-person and virtual registration costs at the time of purchase.

The superb programme will continue unchanged. This will be a dynamic and interactive conference. The timings of the programme have not been changed since the change to virtual format. The reason for this is that we have speakers and delegates from 52 countries, and attempting to move the time either forwards or backwards will always adversely affect some of those countries. The local organising committee wish you all the best and look forward to seeing you virtually in September.

WELCOME

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this the 14th World Congress of Paediatric Dermatology, on behalf of the local
organising committee and both the British and International societies of paediatric dermatology.

I thank you for joining us in this international celebration of our subject, to hear of the latest advances, to impart them to
others, and to meet with both old and new friends. As a Scot it is a personal sadness for me not to be able to welcome you in person in Edinburgh, but as with so many others we have had to adapt to the uncertain circumstances surrounding the pandemic.

We have a superb line up of keynote speakers, invited lecturers and specialist chairs, as well as a wide range of international delegates from 52 countries. I urge you to take advantage of the virtual format to permit you to attend parallel sessions, avoiding the difficult choices we usually have to make in real time.

The programme will be available to view via the online platform for a month. I would also like to thank our sponsors, for their commitment to the congress through the last four years in planning and in particular throughout the changing circumstances of the last 18 months. This is the beginning of an era of rapid expansion of paediatric dermatology therapies, and our congress is one of the first to be able to bring together the pharmaceutical companies who have
invested in this field and the physicians who have both helped to develop and are now using these treatments. I would strongly encourage all delegates to interact as much as possible with the sponsors through the online platform, and to contact them directly if you wish to speak to them in more depth.

I wish you all the best for a most enjoyable and inspiring conference, and I look forward to seeing as
many of you as possible in person in the near future.

All best wishes,

Veronica Kinsler
President of the WCPD2021
On behalf of the local organising committee