This year marks the 90th anniversary of the World Council of Optometry (WCO), who will be hosting the 2nd World Congress of Optometry in India later this year.
The WCO, which is headquartered at the American Optometric Association offices in St. Louis, Mo., is reportedly the only global optometric body in official relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO).
WCO reportedly represents over 200,000 optometrists in almost 60 countries through over 200 affiliate, associate, corporate and individual memberships across six world regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Latin America and North America.
Along with a celebration of its 90th anniversary, WCO will host the 2nd World Congress of Optometry in Hyderabad, India from September 11-13, 2017, in partnership with the Asia Pacific Council of Optometry (APCO) and the India Vision Institute (IVI).
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2017 Marks World Council of Optometry 90 Year Anniversary
The World Council of Optometry (WCO) was originally founded in Cologne, Germany in 1927 as the International Optical League—Ligue Internationale d’optique. In 1970 the name was changed to the International Optometric and Optical League (IOOL) and was based in the United Kingdom. In 1996, the IOOL became the WCO and is now headquartered at the American Optometric Association offices in St. Louis, Missouri. This year marks the 90th year anniversary of the WCO.
The WCO is the only global optometric body in official relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners with many eye care organizations which share the same goal of high quality eye health and vision care being accessible to all people.
Today, the WCO’s mission is to facilitate the development of optometry around the world and support optometrists in promoting eye health and vision care as a human right through advocacy, education, policy development and humanitarian outreach. It remains an international organization dedicated to the enhancement and development of eye and vision care worldwide.
The WCO collectively represents over 200,000 optometrists in almost 60 countries through over 200 affiliate, associate, corporate and individual memberships across six world regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Latin America and North America.
Having a long, rich history of worldwide leadership from a global perspective, past WCO presidents have come from countries all over the world including Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Norway, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States.
“Next to life itself is the gift of vision,” WCO President Uduak Udom explained. “The beauty all around, which just amazes us, comes through vision. Most of our learning comes through vision. For these and many more reasons, optometrists around the world are committed to the cause of a world where high quality eye health and vision care is accessible to all people.”
Along with celebration of its 90-year history, this is an exciting time for WCO as it looks forward to hosting the 2nd World Congress of Optometry being held in Hyderabad, India from September 11-13, 2017. The Congress is an initiative of the WCO in partnership with the Asia Pacific Council of Optometry (APCO) and the India Vision Institute (IVI). The central theme of the meeting, Accessible, Quality Vision and Eye Health complements the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Action Plan of Universal Eye Health with a goal of universal access to comprehensive eye care services.
Source: World Council of Optometry