There seems to be an ever-expanding list of national and international days to celebrate some cause or event, however well-meaning or esoteric. The UN currently marks 218 international days to raise awareness on important issues. Many contorted versions exist, like National Paper Clip Day, though I’m sure National Fish and Chip Day occurs more frequently than once-a-year in Glasgow!
Did you know there is International Ophthalmologist Day on 8th August linked to the famous eye surgeon Svyatoslav Fyodorov – is 8/8 the Russian equivalent of 6/6?! Other optical milestones include World Sight Day (2nd Thursday of October) amongst similar notable dates. Such celebrations are intended to mark significant events (like birthdays or anniversaries), and serve as a stimulus to reflection, to see how far you’ve come, and still hope to go.
These emotions have been on my mind as the UK and Ireland Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (UKISCRS) council plan their 50th annual congress celebrations in London on 18–20 November 2026. This follows hard on the heels of the incredible 75th anniversary of Ridley’s first IOL in November 2024. Like any momentous celebration, there is the self-inflicted pressure to keep raising the bar with even higher standards. Ensuring your intended audience has the best possible time should create enhanced value, greater fulfilment and loyalty to return. Valuing those you interact with inspires them to do likewise and observing that ‘pay-it-forward’ attitude amongst returning attendees is a wonderful legacy for any subspecialty society.
One of the ways UKISCRS achieves this is through giving delegates and faculty an engaging experience that they would otherwise not have received in their ordinary walk of life. Providing such a dynamic and diverse educational and memorable social programme takes effort but is worth it. Do consider attending this generational celebration of UKISCRS covering the best of the UK, Ireland and beyond in cataract, refractive and anterior segment surgery. Eye News will be there, reporting on all the excitement, clinical strategies and cutting-edge research on display in their daily eNewsletters.
Similarly, Eye News August/September 2026 also celebrates the old and gold, and new and true in cataract surgery, covering the modern IOL landscape (Annes Ahmeidat), iris-claw IOLs (Sara Ahmed), for which you can pick yourself up a CPD point, and the complex cataract case mix (Adesuwa Garrick). Robotic innovations are discussed (Mariam Hussain), and a fascinating interview on AI and Oculomics with Shafi Balal (Nima Ghadiri, Arun Thirunavakarsu) amongst the usual sustenance. As a bonus present, there is our fifth imaging supplement, guest edited by Richard Bell and Rosalyn Painter. We also have many conference reports covering high class education events such as the RCOphth Annual Congress, ARVO, NEOS, BOPSS and more reasons for celebration!
I hope Eye News August/September 2026 gives you many reasons to reflect on how far you’ve come and still hope to go. The best way to move forward positively is to engage, and celebrate the small and big wins, wherever you can find them. So come on, let’s celebrate! See you in November! – DL
