European Educational Forum – Athens, Greece
by Hannah Mobarak, IWMF Global Partner Manager
On Friday 24 April, we hosted our 4th Annual European Educational Forum in Athens, Greece, bringing together the international WM community in one place to learn from and connect with one another.
This year’s meeting was held in collaboration with the European Consortium for Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia (ECWM), alongside their annual gathering of expert clinicians and researchers. We worked closely with organisers Lisa Kaiser and Professor Christian Buske throughout the planning process, and we are incredibly grateful for their support and expert guidance in making this meeting a success.
We were privileged to welcome a diverse group of speakers from across the global WM community, including clinicians, researchers, young ECWM investigators, a clinical nurse specialist, and patient advocates. We extend our sincere thanks to all our speakers for generously sharing their time and expertise: Professor Christian Buske (Germany), Professor Shirley D’Sa (UK), Jennifer Russell (UK), Professor Monique Minnema (Netherlands), Professor Stathis Kastritis (Greece), Professor Maria Gavriatopolou (Greece), Dr Steve Treon (USA), Bob Perry (UK), Gloria McNeill (Canada), Michael Bentley (Netherlands), Susanne Öhrn (Sweden), as well as our own Paul Kitchen (IWMF Board Chair, Canada) and Delora Senft (IWMF President & CEO, USA).
The Young ECWM researchers presented posters showcasing their work and engage directly with the WM community. Contributors included Jahanzaib Khwaja (UK), Phillip Nakov (Germany), Pierre-Édouard Debureaux (France), Tina Bagratuni (Greece), Anne-Marie Becking (Netherlands), David Moreno (Spain), Dr Wouter Verhaar (Netherlands), and Dr Pieter Langerhorst (Netherlands). We were also pleased to hear presentation summaries from Jahanzaib Khwaja, Tina Bagratuni, and Anne-Marie Becking.
The meeting brought together a wide range of perspectives and experiences from across the globe, united by a shared commitment to supporting people living with WM. It was an invaluable opportunity for learning, collaboration, and strengthening connections within our community.
Attendees travelled from 15 countries including Greece, Germany, the UK, the USA, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Spain, Türkiye, Sweden, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Chile, making this our most internationally diverse European Educational Forum to date. The day concluded with a networking dinner in a beautiful setting, offering a memorable opportunity to connect with colleagues and community members from around the world.
To learn more about the EEF 2026 meeting, please look out for a full feature in our upcoming Torch newsletter.
We are pleased to confirm that our 2027 European Educational Forum will take place on Thursday 15 April in Oxford, UK. I am excited to begin planning this event with the team and warmly invite you to join us. It will be another opportunity to learn about the latest developments in WM and to connect with our uniquely close and supportive international community of patients, carers, clinicians, and researchers.
Hannah Mobarak
IWMF Global Partner Manager
I would like to say a special thanks to our volunteers whose support on the day was invaluable: Hannah Kemp (Lucid Group), Bettina Schwethelm and Karim Medjahed-Schwethelm.
Many photos in this were post generously provided by Karim Medjahed-Schwethelm.
We look forward to welcoming you to Oxford, UK in April 2027 – as we continue to learn, connect, and move closer to a world without WM.
For questions about our Educational Forums, reach out to events@iwmf.com.