A Brief Introduction to the World Congress

The 8th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery was held in Washington DC, USA, from Saturday, August 26, 2023 through Friday September 1, 2023. It was the largest and most comprehensive scientific meeting dedicated to pediatric and congenital cardiac care ever held. The 2023 World Congress scientific program was interdisciplinary and was developed by global leaders in cardiac surgery, pediatric cardiology, adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD), cardiac nursing, cardiac anesthesia, cardiac intensive care, perfusion, and other experts from around the world. The 2023 World Congress Scientific Committee developed a program of unparalleled breadth and depth featuring 22 subspecialty tracks.

Traditionally held every 4 years, the World Congress is a large international meeting of unparalleled depth, scope and size, affectionately known as “The Olympics of our Profession.”  Inspired by the incredible precedent set by past World Congress organizers, our goal was to make this the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and technologically advanced meeting for pediatric and congenital heart disease.

World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery Attendees and Demographics

Attendees (distinct countries of origin) 5768 (117)
Nurse attendees (distinct countries of origin)  806 (34)
Faculty (distinct countries of origin)  959 (65)
Abstracts accepted as posters (distinct countries of origin)  2791 (104)
Oral abstracts (distinct countries of origin)  153 (34)
Institutional partners (i.e., hospitals) 70
Societal Partners (i.e., Professional Societies) who provided formal endorsement of WCPCCS 2023 52
Societal Partners (i.e., Professional Societies) with embedded Society meetings at WCPCCS 2023  14

Organizations from across North America came together to make the Eighth World Congress a momentous event.  We were honored by the groundswell of support from these organizations:

  • Institutional Partners: 70 children’s hospitals joined the effort as our Institutional Partners. Each of these hospitals provided financial support to help fund the effort.

  • Formal Endorsements: 52 Professional Societies and related organizations provided endorsements as Societal Partners for WCPCCS 2023.

  • Embedded Society Meetings: 14 Societal Partners chose to embed their scientific content and meeting within WCPCCS 2023.

The Opening Ceremony and Reception for the 8th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery was held on Sunday, August 27, 2023 and showcased a uniquely american form of music: JAZZ! Our Opening Ceremony featured:

  • Wynton Marsalis

  • The Future of Jazz Band

    • Directed by Joe Block

    • Curated by JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER

    • Wynton Marsalis, Managing and Artistic Director

  • Children's Chorus of Washington (CCW)

The Featured Social Event was held on Thursday evening August 31, 2023 at one of America's favorite pastimes, a major league baseball game. Attendees watched the 2019 World Series Champions and winners of four NL East Division titles, the Washington Nationals, play the Miami Marlins at the Nationals Park in Southeast Washington.

Sixteen global leaders in pediatric and congenital cardiac care were selected to present sixteen Plenary Session Landmark Lectures in the daily Opening Plenary Sessions. (Four speakers were selected for each of the four Opening Plenary Sessions scheduled on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 7:30 AM-9:15 AM ET.)

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

– John F. Kennedy

Facts about WCPCCS 2023

  • The Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery was the largest and most comprehensive scientific meeting dedicated to paediatric and congenital cardiac care ever held.

  • WCPCCS 2023 had 5,768 registered attendees form 117 countries

  • WCPCCS 2023 had a truly diverse & international faculty of 959 individuals from 65 countries

  • Gender of faculty: 55.2% male/44.8% female

  • 33.8% were early- to mid-career faculty (<15 years in practice)

  • 806 nurses from 34 countries attended

  • 2791 total abstracts were presented from 2055 unique authors representing 104 countries.

  • WCPCCS 2023 held a Best Abstract Competition featuring 153 oral abstracts (17 tracks times 9 abstracts per track) from 34 countries

The History of World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

Year Location Chair(s)
World Congress
of Paediatric Cardiology		 1980 London, United Kingdom Dr. Jane Somerville, and Prof. Fergus Macartney
1985 New York, United States of America Bill Rashkind, Mary Ellen Engle, and Eugene Doyle
1989 Bangkok, Thailand Chompol Vongraprateep
World Congress
of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery		 1988 Bergamo, Italy Lucio Parenzan
World Congress
of Paediatric Cardiology
and Cardiac Surgery		 1993 Paris, France Jean Kachaner
1995-1997 Japan to Hawaii, United States of America Yasuharu Imai,  and Kazuo Monma
2001 Toronto, Canada Bill Williams and Bob Freedom
2005 Buenos Aires, Argentina Guillermo "Billy" Kreutzer, and Horatio Capelli
2009 Cairns, Australia Jim Wilkinson
2013 Cape Town, South Africa Christopher Hugo-Hamman
2017 Istanbul, Turkey to Barcelona, Spain Sertac Cicek
2021-2023 Washington DC, United States of America Jeff Jacobs and Gil Wernovsky
2025 Hong Kong, China Yiu-fai "Ringo" Cheung, and Nicholson Yam
2029 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Marcelo Biscegli Jatene

Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals

The World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery is dedicated to enhancing global collaboration to improve pediatric and congenital cardiac care.

  • The mission of The World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery is to improve the global standard for pediatric and congenital cardiac care.

  • The vision of The 2023 World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery was:

    • To organize the most comprehensive scientific forum ever convened for this patient population and their caregivers.

    • To improve the duration and quality of life for neonates, infants, children, and adults with pediatric and congenital cardiovascular disease.

  • The core values of The 2023 World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery are:

    • Economic, Ethnic, Gender and Geographic Diversity Advocacy for Patients and Families Across the Globe, at the Educational, Institutional, Governmental and Economic Levels

    • Training the Next Generation of Health Care Providers

    • Seamless Sharing of Best Practices

    • Interdisciplinary Collaboration

    • Inter-Institutional Collaboration

  • The goals of The 2023 World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery were:

    • To create the most technologically advanced, state-of-the-art World Congress to date, featuring a Scientific Program that is unique and unparalleled

    • To bring together non-governmental organizations and patient/family advocacy groups in a "Global Village" to share best practices and develop strategies for improved and sustainable access to patient care in low- and middle-income countries

    • To use the scientific presentations to create "Enduring Materials," providing up-to-date online education for caregivers in low- and middle-income countries

    • To NOT raise registration fees (adjusted for inflation and number of contact hours) c/t 2009

    • To greatly discount registration fees for low-middle and low-income countries

Gil Wernovsky,
MD

Co-Chair,
8th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

Jeffrey P. Jacobs,
MD

Co-Chair,
8th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

Mitchell I. Cohen, MD

Chair,
Scientific Committee

David S. Cooper,
MD, MPH

Chair,
Financial Committee, Industry Relations & Institutional Liaison

Kathryn M. Dodds,
MSN, CPNP 

Chair,
Nursing & Interdisciplinary Committees