Dear ISAC / APUA Colleagues

In what has been a highly challenging and difficult year, we would like to extend our gratitude to all our Executive Committee members, Member Societies, Working Groups and global colleagues for their massive efforts in dealing with COVID-19. We have been extremely inspired by the dedication and determination of our global community who are working harder than ever. We do hope you will be able to have some well-deserved time off over the festive period.

As with other societies, ISAC's executive had to put most of their planned activities on hold in order to focus on the pandemic. Due to many uncertainties, ISAC also took the difficult decision to postpone the International Congress of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (ICC) by one year. This will now take place in November 2022 in Perth, Australia.

2021 marks the 60th anniversary of ISAC and the 40th anniversary of APUA (the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics) though any commemorative events are now likely to be virtual as opposed to face-to-face.

In 2021, we also aim to officially launch the ISAC Academy, a free educational online learning platform. We already held an informative webinar on COVID-19: Around the World in 80++ Minutes, as the first initiative of the Academy which we hope you enjoyed.

We appreciate the immense pressure that you are all under and we thank you for your continued support of ISAC. In turn, if ISAC can support your society in any way, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Fiona and Fee at the Secretariat secretariat@ISAC.world.

We hope that 2021 will bring some sense of normality for everyone. All of us at ISAC wish you a happy holiday season and hope that 2021 brings you and your families all the health and blessings you deserve.

Stay safe,

With warm regards
Andreas