WRITER Katrina Ronne

August is a significant month for the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists (ASO) with a number of advocacy projects reaching fruition, including the annual World Ophthalmologist Day campaign and the ASO Eye Surgery Showcase in Canberra.

Advocacy is a vital component of everything we do at the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists (ASO).

We advocate for ophthalmologists. We advocate for eye surgeons in training. We advocate for your patients.

We advocate for the Australian public.

We advocate for eye health awareness, early prevention, and the best in surgical practices.

In 2023, the ASO launched its inaugural World Ophthalmologist Day (WOD) campaign to increase awareness and appreciation for the profession.

Held annually on 8 August, it was underutilised globally, and within Australia, it passed under the radar.

The campaign began slowly but has grown significantly into a global movement.

This year, we are calling on our members and the broader eye health community in Australia to help continue the conversation – and we have support resources on our website, asoeye.org, to get you started!

Share your personal stories and encourage others to share theirs, including how an ophthalmologist has helped or played a role in your eye health journey.

If you are in the medical technology sector, celebrate how you are working with ophthalmologists to improve patient outcomes through advances in science and innovation.

What the WOD campaign gives all of us, is a platform to highlight advocacy issues, especially promoting equitable access to eye care services and identifying solutions for the distribution of services to where they are needed most.

Whether you mark the occasion with your peers, use your voice online, or advocate in your local community, participate in World Ophthalmologist Day and seize the opportunity when our collective voice is being heard.

ASO EYE SURGERY SHOWCASE

A place where being heard is more important than ever is within the halls and corridors of Australian Parliament House – where the ASO Eye Surgery Showcase will return on Wednesday, 3 September 2025.

How can you understand eye surgery, its complexities and necessities, if you have not experienced it?

This is a key challenge when advocating to healthcare policy and decision makers and working to protect everyday Australians’ access to public eye surgery and treatments.

It is also the reason why ASO has established the Eye Surgery Showcase, so we can take the ‘operating room’ to Canberra and repair any ‘ocular intrusions’ preventing a clear vision for the future of Australian eye surgery.

We are thankful for the support of Alcon, Apellis, Astellas, Device Technologies, Glaukos, Lumibird Medical, Rayner, and ZEISS whose backing and contributions this year will undoubtedly ensure the delivery of another successful stakeholder event.

MY EYES

The ASO has also been involved in supporting others championing increased community awareness about eye health and the importance of consistent and preventative care.

We attended the My Eyes Brisbane film premiere in late May and were honoured to host a Q&A session with cast members and film consultants following the screening.

Through its social advocacy endeavours, the film highlights there is still much work to be done to promote inclusion, accessibility, and the importance of empathy while championing preventative eye health.

As a healthcare sector, we should seek to collaborate and support initiatives that do just this, while never losing focus of the patient – an ideology that has always, and continues, to drive the ASO. Australians need to ‘see’ themselves and the ones they care about in awareness campaigns for preventative eye health messages to make an impact.

If the ASO can help you achieve this, or there is an issue affecting your patients that you would like us to support, please reach out to us at info@asoeye.org.

As a membership organisation, our strength is our members. As a broader eye health community, strength lies in our collaboration.

Katrina Ronne is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists.