HISTORY
The history of the European Society for Paediatric Dermatology goes back to 1983. During the 3 rd International Congress for Paediatric Dermatology on 30 April 1983, in Monte Carlo, a group of 40 doctors met on the initiative of Marc Larrègue who had the idea to create the European Society of Paediatric Dermatology. Rudolf Happle and Edourad Grosshans were asked to draft the statutes of the Society and organize a founding meeting for this new scientific association. This gathering took place on 4 June 1983 in Brussels during the “XVIIe Congrès de l’Association des Dermatologistes et Syphiligraphes de Langue Française”, where the ‘European Society for Pediatric Dermatology’ was officially created (founding members see Table 1).
The members of the first Executive Board were: Rudolf Happle as President, Edouard Grosshans as Secretary and Jean-Hilaire Saurat as Treasurer. One of the major issues at that time was the creation of an ESPD logo. The present logo was designed by R. Happle and appeared on the announcement of the 1st ESPD congress in Münster/Westfalen, Germany, held in October 1984.
Initially the initiatives of the ESPD were limited to the organization of a 3-yearly congress. These congresses were a huge success and the need for more was felt. From 2008 on an ESPD congress and an ESPD summer school were organized every other year, and as of 2017, the ESPD started a new tradition of Annual Meetings (host cities see Table 2).
Apart from organizing the ESPD meetings, the ESPD has become increasingly important in guiding and supporting Paediatric dermatology in Europe and further afield. Due to the efforts of all former board and executive board members (former executive board members cfr table 3) the ESPD nowadays represents both a hub of clinical excellence and a focus of social interaction. This combination has given rise to vital exchange of clinical expertise, important research collaborations and long-term friendships. Ultimately the ESPD benefits all children with skin disease.