On June 13th, 2024, the EASVO General Assembly took place in the beautiful and sunny city of Heraklion, Greece.
This year, the assembly was conducted in a hybrid format, allowing members to participate both in-person and virtually. Mark McCarthy, the EASVO President, chaired the meeting.
The event welcomed various members and special guests, including Jacob Vedder from Luxembourg, Sean Wensley from the United Kingdom, and Dietmar Gerstner from Austria.
A notable segment of the assembly was the presentation by the newly established Young EASVO Network, which focused on the development of soft skills. This network addressed common challenges and opportunities related to training, interagency collaboration, visibility, and recognition within the veterinary profession.
We had an insightful update from World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) on several topics: the results of the WOAH Observatory's thematic study on transport and introduced the new chapters on slaughter practices, and the WOAH standards consultation process, which aims to enhance animal health and welfare standards globally.
A joint session on soft skills was held with various sections participating. This session highlighted the importance of soft skills across different areas of the veterinary profession and discussed strategies for enhancing and integrating these skills into professional training programs.
The assembly also featured strategic updates from EASVO representatives involved in various working groups, including the Animal Welfare Working Group (AWWG), Medicines Working Group (MWG), Mental well-being Working Group/DEI (MWB/DEI), and the Veterinary Public Health/Sustainability Working Group (VPH/S WG). Furthermore, updates on the FVE 50 years celebration Task Force were provided. The members unanimously adopted the final EASVO Workforce Investigation Report, which underscores the organization’s commitment to addressing workforce challenges and improving conditions for veterinary professionals.
In addition to these updates, there were discussions on topics of interest for the members. These included the Austrian Congress of Food Inspectors, recent visits under the Animal Health Law (AHL), WOAH's approval of Norway's disease-free status, and the reorganization of the Irish Official Veterinary Services.
The meeting concluded with a joint session with all FVE sister Sections on soft skills.
