Dear LUPUS EUROPE members,
 
We would like to invite you to join us at the LUPUS EUROPE 2017 annual convention, which will take place this year in Milan, Italy from November 15 to 19^th, 2017.
 
Based on the suggestions received in Wuerzburg, the theme for this year’s convention will be “Pain, Fatigue and Stress”. Thanks to Augusta’s and Daniela’s dedication, we have already lined up a great programme which will combine valuable speakers, interactive workshops and sharing sessions. This will also be the occasion to collect your final input on our 2018-2023 Strategic Plan, making sure all our energy is focused on what matters most to achieve our vision of “A fulfilling life for all people living with lupus, until we have reached a world without lupus”.
 
Programme
LUPUS EUROPE’s convention will start on the afternoon of Wednesday November 15th for an exciting programme offering skills development, networking opportunities and fun!
 

• On Wednesday, we will open registrations from 16:00 in the Da Vinci Hotel, Milan (more access and location details below), where we will hold our traditional Welcome Dinner to exchange the  latest news, greet familiar faces and welcome new delegates!
• Thursday, Dr. Marta Mosca will open our day, sharing her views and experience on “Pain, Fatigue and Stress – how to deal with it, how to measure it, how to communicate about it with doctors”. This will be followed up by a discussion on the Doctor-Patient communication gap. The afternoon will be dedicated to LUPUS EUROPE’s 2018-2023 Strategic Plan, reviewing together the board proposal and moving then to a workshop on specific strategic plan topics. Anne will then host a “brainstorming at the bar” session, where you will be able to share further thoughts or dreams before the dinner.
• Friday, we will start the day with a discussion around key events that have taken place over the last year, followed by basic Science on “Pain, Fatigue and Stress”, the theme of this year,.We will have the opportunity to hear some country reports (make sure you think about what YOU can share with delegates). The afternoon will be relaxing and discovery time in the streets of Milan. We will end the day with a dinner in the hotel, so that you can chose if you want to stay chatting until midnight… or find your bed as early as possible.
• Saturday will start with Lupus Italy presenting on their 30^th anniversary and sharing the work they have done in the areas of Patient survey and Patient projects. After the coffee break, we will have the opportunity to practice Tai Chi, one method for handling stress. The afternoon will be dedicated to significant initiatives for better access to quality care: Lupus Clinics and the recent establishment of a European Reference Network covering lupus. The day will end with the Convention closing dinner.
• As we will have already covered our Strategic Plan on Thursday, we anticipate the council session will be shorter this year, allowing us to run a session on “Building Competencies” on Sunday morning. Our current thinking is to run a session on “Effective Presentations”, but if you wish another subject to be addressed, we are open to suggestions. Please let the secretariat know as soon as possible. After the coffee break, we will hold our council session. This year, three trustee positions are up for election, as Kirsten and Katharine’s terms expire, and Kirsi will unfortunately not be able to stay with us. Kirsten has communicated to the board her intention not to stand for re-election this year. So please consider seriously whether you or anyone else in your organisation would be interested in joining the LUPUS EUROPE board!
• The Convention will end Sunday at 14:00 so that you have time to safely travel back to the airport and from there to your respective countries with one of the many flights leaving Frankfurt from 17:00 onwards.

 
Convention Fee
The convention fee will remain unchanged at 500€. This covers the programme, accommodation at Da Vinci Hotel and meals, from Wednesday afternoon registration until Sunday afternoon. The fee does NOT cover travel, cancellation and other insurances; which we strongly advise you take on your own.
 
Location and travel
The convention will be held at the da Vinci Hotel, Via Senigallia, 6, 20161 Milan, Italy. We will ensure accommodation from Wednesday evening until Sunday Morning as part of the convention registration.  If you wish to extend your stay, you can make your own additional reservations directly with the hotel by internet or by calling at +39 02 8399 3000. Please mention that you will be part of the LUPUS EUROPE convention and wish to extend your stay so that they can ensure continuity of your stay in the same room. There are two airports with significant international flights near Milan: Milano Linate and Milano Malpensa. Both can be suitable to reach the hotel, but Linate is a little closer (25 km) than Malpensa (47km).
 
Travel and Convention Grants
Based on its historical success, we will, once again, offer travel and attendance grants. The primary objective of the grants is to help associations with more limited financial resources attend this critical event. To benefit from the grants, you must meet the following conditions: (a) your member organisation must be up to date with membership fees through 2017 (membership fee note will soon be out), (b) you must commit to actively participating in the entire convention, from dinner on Wednesday evening until the end of the convention Sunday at 14:00, (c) you must apply for the grant(s), with your registration form, no later than July 15th, 2017. We will unfortunately NOT be able to extend such grants after that date.
 
The Travel Grant will amount to a maximum of 250€ per person, strictly to be used for transportation to and from the convention, and will be reimbursed based on expense reports to be submitted at or immediately after the convention. Travel grants will be limited to up to two people representing each member organisation, including helpers, if any.
 
The Convention Grant will amount to 200€ per person, and will be available for up to two attendees if at least two people from your organisation attend the convention. The convention grant will apply as a direct reduction to the registration fees.
 
Any questions? Don’t hesitate, simply send a message to secretariat@lupus-europe.org. We will be delighted to help 
 
Register Now! We need to confirm the final number of rooms by July 15th. Why wait to benefit from collaboration with your peers on best practices for patient leaders and organisations? Prompt registration will help us get organized efficiently.
 
On behalf of the board, we look forward to seeing you there!
Yours,
 
Alain Cornet
Secretariat – LUPUS EUROPE

Attachments (click to open PDF):
Trustee application
Convention Programme