MESSAGEOn the 21st of June, 2001, exactly 13 years ago, a group of colleagues from different Balkan countriesgathered at 11 a.m. in the Aphrodite room of the Astir Palace Hotel of Athens, Greece in order to createthe Balkan Society of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.The Society was created and the Constitution of this Society was voted. The founding countries wereAlbania, Bulgaria, Greece, Fyrom, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. The objectives of the Constitution wereeleven, and the first and most significant one stated that the new Society should promote the advancementof otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery in the Balkan countries. The above objective, today, isfully fulfilled, due to the devotion, the work, and the continuous development of friendly bonds of theENT members of the participant Balkan countries. We all know the difficult economic problems facing our countries and the world. However, I am optimistic that our continuing efforts for supporting and improving the objectives of theConstitution of the Balkan ENT Society will certainly be for the benefit of the health of the Balkan peo-ple.Finally, I would like to thank my dear friend, Professor Pavel Dimov, for our collaboration all theseyears, and to congratulate him on his continuing efforts to support the Balkan ENT Society. I wish him every success in his life and I urge him to keep continuing his efforts by organizing excellentscientific meetings that bring together more and more colleagues from the Balkan countries and fromabroad.Prof. Dr. Emmanuel Helidonis, MD, FACSHeraklion, Crete, GreeceProfessor Emeritus of Otolaryngology2006-2008 President of Balkan Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head-Neck SurgeryProceedings15 Years Continuing Medical Education in Otology, Bulgaria17
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