2025 Vol. I ISAKOS President's Message

David A. Parker, MBBS, BMedSc, FRACS, AUSTRALIA

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Dear Friends,

As we start this new year, I hope that all of our members have had a successful and productive 2024. ISAKOS certainly had a very busy year, and was involved in many activities around the world on our mission in global education. As we work towards our bi-annual congress in Munich this June, we have many other things we are doing on-line and in person to keep the educational momentum always moving forward.

It is exciting to think that 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of ISAKOS, an important milestone for our organisation. It was the forward thinking of leaders of the International Arthroscopy Association and the International Society of the Knee, who recognized the common interests between the two groups and the benefit of collaboration, and in 1995 formalized the union to form ISAKOS. What started as a relatively small but powerful alliance of many of the international thought leaders in knee surgery and orthopaedic sports medicine has grown steadily over the years to now be the largest organization of its kind. With close to 4,000 members from 100+ countries around the world, this thriving society is testament to the vision of the founding members and the many leaders since that time who have helped it to grow.

Since my last report much has happened in the world of ISAKOS. In September, myself and other ISAKOS representatives spoke at the Indian Arthroscopy Society meeting in Bengaluru, while several other attended the JSOA meeting in Japan. We were then able to join several of the next ISAKOS Global Travelling Fellows at the Magellan meeting in Noosa, Australia. Then in October, we were well represented at the APKASS meeting in Hainan Island, China. These were all great educational events that ISAKOS was very proud to contribute to, continuing our regular involvement with major meetings around the world.

In late October, we held our second International Knee Arthroplasty Forum (IKAF) in historic Kyoto, Japan. IKAF was first held in 2022 in Chile, and this meeting has become a major part of our mission to enhance our focus on knee arthroplasty, continuing the tradition of the original International Society of the Knee. The meeting was a great success, with nearly 400 attendees from around the world, and a fantastic faculty of international experts who put together a highly engaging, interactive program covering all of the important issues around contemporary knee arthroplasty. Many thanks to everyone involved, but particularly to program chairs Shuichi Matsuda and Sebastien Lustig, and our dedicated local host Nori Nakamura. The next IKAF will be held in Brussels, Belgium in 2026, and I’m sure will continue to establish this meeting as the number one global knee arthroplasty meeting on the calendar.

In addition to involvement with the many international meetings, ISAKOS has continued to grow our other educational offerings with webinars, the Digital Digest, podcasts, electronic newsletter, Global Link, and many other activities. We have significantly enhanced our social media presence across many platforms to more effectively engage with members and potential members beyond our traditional platforms. JISAKOS is active on social media, as well, and continues to grow and prosper under its new leadership. Meanwhile, the Executive Committee continues to meet regularly to continue to implement our strategic plan that was devised for 2024-2027, to ensure the future success and relevance of our organisation.

ISAKOS was recently recognized as a Platinum-level participant by the non-profit authority Candid’s GuideStar, reflecting the society's commitment to transparency as a nonprofit organization. We do strive for transparency with our Board and members, so members can be well informed regarding how the society allocates membership funds and donations. We approach every spending and pricing decision with utmost care and consideration, while maintaining healthy reserves. This recognition underscores our dedication to providing clear and detailed insights into our mission, impact, and financials. I would invite anyone interested to explore ISAKOS's latest financial report, membership updates, donor-supported programs, and our nonprofit profile, all available on the ISAKOS website.

As we kick off the new year, we soon will introduce the chairs and members who will have the opportunity to serve on one of our many ISAKOS committees for 2025-2027, Committee members understand this is a great way to become more involved with our organization, and also to meet many like-minded colleagues from around the world! On that note I would like to sincerely thank the hundreds of members who have been working hard on our committees during the 2023-2025 term. Our committees are the life blood and “engine room” of ISAKOS, and we are indebted to the many members who volunteer their time to help us achieve our mission.

And finally, this will be my last President’s report for my term, after which I will hand over the reins to my good friend and next ISAKOS President Joao Espregueira-Mendes at our upcoming congress in Munich this year. It has been an absolute honor and privilege to serve as ISAKOS president for these 2 years, and I have enjoyed every minute representing this organization that I first joined 25 years ago and have a deep passion for. It is an unimaginable honor to join the incredible list of past presidents of ISAKOS, starting with my beloved mentor Peter Fowler. I would like to thank the wonderful ISAKOS office staff, my very close friends on the presidential line, executive committee, board of directors, the many committees, and my beautiful family at home for the incredible support, and a sincere thanks to all ISAKOS members for entrusting me with this role.

I truly believe that while ISAKOS will continue to grow and remain the most important organization in its field, the ISAKOS family will always remain true to its original roots and be a wonderful, diverse collection of people from all corners of the globe driven by a shared passion to continue to improve what we do. I look forward to welcoming you all to Munich in June, for what will no doubt be the best ISAKOS Congress yet!