Dear members and friends of SIDO,

The year 2023 has just ended, a year which was marked by scientific-cultural fireworks of two top-notch congresses thanks to the close and fruitful collaboration of our SIDO president Aldo Giancotti with numerous national and international universities and societies, especially with the WIOC 2023 President and SIDO Past President Giuliano Maino.

I am convinced that the key word of my SIDO 2024 presidency should be ‘TOGETHER‘, because the secret of success in all professional fields is never the result of a single individual, but of a well-orchestrated team of kindred spirits. Therefore, my first initiative was the proposal of building a ‘SIDO leadership team 2024-26’.  This ‘New Deal in SIDO’ expresses our joint intentions of a harmonious collaboration with the two SIDO presidents 2025 and 2026, Prof. Lorenzo Franchi and Dr. Daniela Garbo, to maximize our clinical-academic strengths and to secure leadership continuity for the realization of ambitious long-term projects for the benefit of our SIDO members and avoidance of redundant educational events throughout the triennium.

The general motto for the three-year period 2024-25-26 is BUILDING BRIDGES FOR THE FUTURE‘ which will be applied not only to the two annual meetings, but to all initiatives in SIDO. The online SIDO Study Clubs will be enriched by regional in-person meetings to foster not only intellectual but also collegial exchange among our SIDO members with the intent to create more sense of belonging to the SIDO family.

In 2024 we will start A NEW COMMUNICATION AND MARKETING PROJECT to facilitate the flow of information between our SIDO members and the members of other scientific societies (B2B) and to offer them complimentary and customizable B2C image campaigns to communicate the added value of being an active member of SIDO to the public. We are also in the process of negotiating affordable insurance policies and financing options to add more services to the SIDO membership which we will soon propose.

BUILDING BRIDGES FOR THE FUTURE will be implemented in the SIDO SPRING MEETING ON 19/20 APRIL 2024 IN VERONA at the Palazzo della Gran Guardia opposite the world-famous Arena. These ‘bridges’ will connect the hot topics in orthodontics: ETHICS – EFFICIENCY – EXCELLENCE that will be explored by duets of speakers – a master and an ‘apprentice’ on the podium, combining new approaches with traditional concepts by presenting STARS AND RISING STARS TOGETHER paying tribute to  the new generation which will become the future flagship of Italian orthodontic excellence.

In parallel, the ATASIO/AIASO/ IDEA symposium for dental hygienists and chairside assistants (ASO) will take place, emphasizing the importance of the team to optimize both the flow and outcome of orthodontic treatment.

On Friday evening, I kindly invite ALL congress attendees to a talk show with 6 special guests and then to celebrate ALL TOGETHER on the main floor of the Palace to cultivate old friendships and forge new ones.

The SIDO leadership will be present at the AAO Annual Meeting in New Orleans from 4-7 May, at the EOS Annual Congress in Athens from 9-13 June, and at the CDOU Congress in Trieste from 20-22 June 2024 to promote the image of our society, to foster relations with universities and other national and international scientific societies by establishing new and fruitful collaborations and to recruit new SIDO members.

The motto of BUILDING BRIDGES FOR THE FUTURE  will continue during the 55TH SIDO INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON 17-19. OCTOBER 2024 IN FLORENCE at the Fortezza da Basso, a splendid setting to connect the world’s experts in interdisciplinary treatment, the visionaries of new technologies and customized therapies, and the giants of orthodontic excellence who will present the best of the state-of-the-art 2024.

On Saturday morning, the 1^st SIDO FEMALE LEADERSHIP SUMMIT will take place to recognize the rapidly increasing national and international female leadership community in the field of orthodontics.

On Thursday, 17 October, the II Sandro Segù Memorial of the Italian Board of Orthodontics IBO, various practical courses and the symposium ‘Angle-net comes ALIVE in SIDO’ on the trends that are reshaping the future of our specialty- a collaboration of the Angle Society of Europe (ASE), the American Angle Society of Orthodontists (EHASO) and SIDO – will be held to enrich the scientific forum.

The involvement of a massive number of international speakers is intended to promote and to disseminate both the excellence of our congresses and the open-mindedness of SIDO in view of Mauro Cozzani’s EOS Presidency 2028 in Genoa and Letizia Perillo’s Presidency of the 6th IOC 2030 in Milan to ensure a large influx of international congress participants. We will follow our SIDO past presidents‘ vision to reduce the economic burden for our young members under 30 by keeping their membership and congress fees as low as possible.

Lastly, I would like to appeal to all of you to draw your attention to our SIDO journal ‘Progress in Orthodontics PIO’ which, thanks to the tireless efforts of Editor-in-Chief Ravi Nanda and the Editorial Board, has become the orthodontic journal with the highest impact factor (4.8) in the world of which we can all be very proud.

TOGETHER with the SIDO Board of Directors, I hope to be able to encourage all SIDO members to actively participate in our scientific and cultural life, to create A SENSE OF TRUE BELONGING TO OUR SIDO FAMILY and to stimulate the enthusiasm and the desire of the young generation to join our common pursuit of BUILDING THE BRILLIANT FUTURE OF ITALIAN ORTHODONTICS!

I wish you a new year full of great professional and private satisfaction in good health and I thank you all for your support.

Always at your disposal

Ute Schneider-Moser