TRIBUTE TO CORAZON ALMIRANTE, DAN APTER, VINCENZINA BRUNI, FRANCESCA NAVRATIL,
IRYNA TUCHKINA
Phillipines, Finland, Italy, Switzerland & Ukraine
The WCPAG is back in Europe and it is my greatest pleasure as President of the FIGIJ Board to honour five of the most prominent figures in global Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology.
At a personal level I am delighted to award Honorary Fellowships to;
CORAZON ALMIRANTE, Phillipines
DAN APTER, Finland
VINCENZINA BRUNI, Italy
FRANCESCA NAVRATIL, Switzerland
IRYNA TUCHKINA, Ukraine
Each of you have made and continue to make immense contributions to the integral health of adolescents under the umbrella of paediatric and adolescent gynaecology for which you have a shared commitment. You are leaders of the field, valued professionals who are dedicated to teaching, education and publishing strengthening knowledge and training in PAG. You are a group of trailblazers in PAG with long established track records for which we applaud you.
In the world of FIGIJ, EURAPAG and AOSPAG you need little introduction.
Presentation to Corazon Almirante of the Philippines received in absentia by Angela Aguilar
CORAZON ALMIRANTE
Corazon has been the beating heart of PAG in the Philippines where she graduated after which she received additional training in Boston and Zagreb. Head of the Perinatology Division at the Philippine Children’s Medical Centre of Quezon City, since 2002 she has concurrently headed the Pediatric Adolescent Gynecology Unit, dealing with clinical issues, training of residents and interns, and research in 2002. She was the co-founder of the PAG subspecialty in Philippine PAGSPHIL in 2004 and established the first formal training programme in Asia and the first Fellowship programme in PAG. She was never afraid to tackle many obstacles to promote PAG not only in the Philippines, but also wider afield. It was during her senior years, that she was willing to sit the International Fellowship exam of IFEPAG to show her intent and passion about the subspecialty. Corazon and her close colleague Dr. De Guia passed this in Chile in October 2003. They were the first Filipinos and Asians to be achieve this distinction. In January of 2004, her Unit was accredited as a recognised training and examination centre for PAG training. Corazon has also co-authored
an Atlas in PAG. She has of course also been President of the Philippines PAG Society, the success of which is a testament to her determination and devotion to PAG.
Presentation to Dan Apter of Finland received in absentia by Past President Ellen Rome
Dr. DAN APTER
Everone knows Dan. Dan Apter is the Director of VL-Medi Clinical Research Centre in Finland and from 1997 until 2015, was the Chief Physician at The Sexual Health Clinic, Väestöliitto (Family Federation of Finland) in Helsinki. Dan specialised in obstetrics & gynecology and endocrinology and is a docent at Helsinki University. His areas of interest in both research and clinical practice include sexual health and contraception, human papillomavirus, the endocrinology of puberty and the development of polycystic ovary syndrome. Reflecting his enormous experience and broad research expertise, he has published more than 200 papers. He first joined the FIGIJ Board in 1995 and became Secretary General in 1998-2001. Dan of course has been President of FIGIJ doing a double stint between 2001-2004 and 2004-2007 then loyally staying on as Vice President between 2007-2010. He has also been Vice-President of the European Society of Contraception, and is currently a member of the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health.
Presentation to Vincenzina Bruni of Italy received in person
Prof. VINCENZINA BRUNI
Graduated in Florence and is still there! She worked her way up to Professorship while being taught in PAG by the Swiss gynaecologist Dr. Irmi Rey-Stocker who in turn was a visiting doctor at Prof. Peter’s PAG Department in Prague a direct line to the founder of European PAG! Vincenzina was the founder and the first director of the Oupatient PAG Department of Policlinico Careggi, at the University of Florence and has been President of the Italian PAG Society -SIGIA from 1990 till 2002, continuing thereafter as Honorary President for life. Anyone who has heard her speak will know that she is a fascinating lecturer and one of the best speakers in the circuit – little wonder that she continues to be in such demand. She has organized PAG courses in Florence for more than 20 years and is a renowned international speaker. She has authored a huge number of papers in PAG, being the main co-author of three PAG treatises in Italian and a fantastic new PAG book just off the press. Vincenzina was a Vice President of FIGIJ for two consecutive terms between 1989-1995 and was also a FIGIJ Board Member between 2001-2004
Presentation to Francesca Navratil of Switzerland received in absentia by Elisabetta Ferrucci
Dr. FRANCESCA NAVRATIL
It is also a pleasure to welcome a Paediatrician into the rank of Honorary Fellowship. What a life! Born in Italy, moving to Argentina and then returning to Europe, she settled in Zurich, Switzerland, where she graduated as a medical doctor but also specialised in Paediatrics and Neonatology in the USA. Her main practice was neonatology but in the early 80’s she founded the first PAG practice in Switzerland, at the Kinderspital Zurich, working there for about 15 years and being mostly involved in child abuse. Anyone who has seen her video of vaginoscopy in an unsedated young child will realise what an accomplished clinician she is. Francesca has been President of the Swiss PAG Society and holds international PAG very close to her heart. She has been closely involved with FIGIJ, hosting the organisation in Switzerland before it was transferred to the USA, and was Secretary General between 201-2004, as well as a Board Member between 1998-2001.
Presentation to Iryna Tuchkina of Ukraine received in person
Prof. IRYNA TUCHKINA
Iryna led one of the very best European training centres in PAG for many years. Her passion and enthusiasm has been legendary and she has been totally committed to the subspecialty which she developed in Ukraine way ahead of most other European countries, with their own curriculum and postgraduate training programme in PAG. She has been visible in global PAG for many years being an Academician of the Ukrainian National Academy of Higher Education Sciences, Vice-President of the Ukrainian Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Association, Head of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Pediatric Gynecology at Kharkiv National Medical University and Chief PAG Specialist of the Kharkiv Region. She is an IFEPAG Fellow and has been a member of EURAPAG since 2008 and an individual FIGIJ member for many years, with more than 200 publications to her name and member of four Ukrainian medical journal editorial boards. She has been a champion of PAG who has seen her world collapse around her over the last 18 months when all her lifetime work was destroyed through aggression, resulting in her having to flee to Germany where she is now safe. Always with a smile on your face and a most modest individual, Iryna we salute your courage and resilience.
Five PAG educators with their own distinct personalities, sound knowledge, different experiences in their medical workload and all of them in their own way passionate about their vocation of service.
Today, during this WCPAG, we express our recognition and gratitude to you through this tribute.
Thank you – we thank you on behalf of those who have been close to you, and all the girls, adolescents and young people whom you have been able to support and inspire to achieve a better world.
We salute your contributions to global PAG. On behalf of FIGIJ we welcome you to our family of Honorary Fellows.
Paul Wood
President
May 2023