On Friday evening, 6 November, Saturday, 7 November, and Sunday morning, 8 November 2026, we will host our annual Global Members Conference in the Netherlands.
Our guests are welcome to join us from 8:00 PM on Friday evening for an informal welcome reception, where they can meet one another while enjoying a selection of traditional Dutch snacks and refreshments. The conference programme features a variety of interesting parallel sessions covering a wide range of topics.
This is a hybrid conference, allowing members to participate either in person in the Netherlands or online. Online participants will be able to attend the speaker sessions but will not have access to the other parts of the programme.
On Saturday evening, we will host a dinner buffet for all participants.
This year, we are once again organising activities on Sunday. For each member attending the conference, we will cover the cost of one hotel room for Saturday night, including a breakfast buffet on Sunday morning.
18:00 – 20:00 – Welcome dinner
20:00 – 22:00 – Welcom drink with Dutch goodies (bar ISWV)
| Time (CET) | Speaker(s) | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 08:30 – 09:00 | Reception & Registration | |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Lex van der Heijden | Welcome, agenda and members’ meeting |
| 09:30 – 10:30 | Dr. ? (Dutch) | Diagnosis and treatment vascular malformations |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Dr. Patrick Kemperman (Dutch) | |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | – | Break with ‘vlaai’ |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Dr. Patrick Kemperman (English, French) | |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Dr. ? (English) | Diagnosis and treatment vascular malformations |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | – | Lunch |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Hanae Jaali Chabor, MSc (English, French) | European Reference Networks – What’s in it for me? |
| 15:00 – 16:00 | Dr. Nicky Hekster (Dutch, English) | Artificial Intelligence (AI) – What can I do with this? |
| 15:00 – 16:00 | Wim Robbertsen (Dutch, English) | Workshop making pictures with your smartphone |
| 16:30 – 18:00 | – | Snacks and drinks |
| 18:30 – 20:00 | – | Dinner |
| 20:00 – … | – | Networking |
| Time (CET) | Speaker(s) | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 08:30 – 10:00 | – | Breakfast |
| 10:30 – 12:00 | ||
| 12:00 – 13:00 | – | Lunch |
| THE END |
Dr. Patrick Kemperman is one of our advisors and works as a dermatologist at Amsterdam UMC and Dijklander Hospital in Purmerend, the Netherlands. He is a general dermatologist with two specific areas of expertise: psychodermatology and itch.
Bridging the gap between the treatment of physical and psychosocial challenges experienced by people living with chronic skin conditions is what motivates him.
Hanae Jaali Chabor, MSc is ERN-Skin Communications and Patient Representatives – Project Manager.
Dr. Nicky Hekster … and is also former IBM colleague of Lex, has been actively involved in artificial intelligence (AI) for many years, with a particular focus on its applications and potential within healthcare.
To help cover the costs of our conference, we kindly ask participants aged 4 to 12 years to make a contribution of €10 per person, and participants aged 13 years and older to contribute €15 per person.
There is no contribution required for children aged 0 to 3 years.
This contribution does not apply to speakers and active volunteers.
Opens on the 17th of August.
Previously, participants could receive a free personal medical consultation during our conference. This option has been discontinued for several reasons. An important reason is that we wanted to further improve the quality of personal medical advice and provide more sustainable healthcare.
Sustainable healthcare means, in particular, that patients from abroad can receive better care in their own country by ensuring that their local doctors are well informed and supported by the multidisciplinary medical team in the Netherlands.
Within Europe, many countries have specialised expert centres for vascular malformations. This means that patients can often consult medical specialists in their own country and in their own language.
European Reference Networks (ERN’s)
Finding local expert center and of patientorganisation vascular malformations via smartphone App
Outside Europe, or in European countries where specialised expert centres are not available, patients may have the opportunity to seek support and expertise from specialised expert centres in the Netherlands.
Via the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA) you can search for a a multidisciplinary team of medical experts in each country (if available).
This year, we are once again hosting our conference at the International School for Philosophy (Internationale School Voor Wijsbegeerte).
The venue is centrally located in the Netherlands, close to the A28 motorway, with free parking available. It is easily accessible by public transport, located near Amersfoort train station, and beautifully situated in a forrest.
Landgoed ISVW
Dodeweg 8
3832 RD Leusden
The Netherlands
Information conference location
Reserve hotelroom(s): send an email to: reserveringen@isvw.nl
At this location, comfortable hotel rooms are available. We have negotiated a special rate of €122.50 per night for a comfort room for one person and €137.50 per night for two people. The price includes breakfast.
These rooms are suitable for a maximum of two adults and, if required, one child up to and including 2 years old (baby cot). Please note that baby cots are not available at the hotel.
A suite offers a more spacious room where an additional bed can be added. The price for a suite for two people is €165.00 per night, including breakfast. An additional bed costs €25.00 per night, including breakfast.
Breakfast for children between 4 and 16 years old costs €8.25 per child per day.
Most hotels have a limited number of family rooms available, including the hotels in the surrounding area (such as Fletcher and Van der Valk). We recommend booking these rooms well in advance due to their limited availability.
Local tourist tax will be added to these prices.
The hotel room must be reserved and paid for by the participant. Any costs resulting from a no-show will be charged to the person who made the reservation.
During previous members’ conferences, we have been able to offer free massages. These were not only relaxing but also provided pain relief for some patients. The chair massages are provided by Belinda Toes.
This year, we will once again offer chair massages. During registration upon arrival at the conference centre, you can also sign up for a chair massage.
Please register as soon as possible, as we know from experience that these chair massages are extremely popular among participants of all ages — even entire families enjoy taking part.
Important: People living with vascular malformations will be given priority when scheduling the chair massages.
During our members’ conferences in 2023, 2024, and 2025, we recorded a series of interviews (currently 19 interviews with subtitles in 5 languages) which are available on our website. We will continue this initiative again this year.
Would you like to take part in an interview? Please let us know during registration.
The interview will be recorded in your own language and will then be subtitled in multiple languages.
The idea behind this activity originally started as a creative event for children of almost all ages. We provide a separate room with guidance and a variety of creative activities.
The craft activities have proven to be a great success for almost all age groups. For example, 16-year-olds, adults, and even grandparents have enjoyed participating and having lots of fun!
Participants will not go home empty-handed — they will take home their own creations.
The creative event will take place on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Suitable for all ages.
Please note: We kindly ask participants to bring boxes and/or bags to safely take their creations home.
But… this year we are offering many more activities!
Please note: If there is insufficient interest in a workshop, it may be cancelled.
The idea behind these activities is to provide children and young adults with the opportunity to stay active during presentations or sessions that may not be of interest to them. Of course, adults are also welcome to participate in these activities or use the opportunity to connect and have conversations with others.
The activities/workshops will take place from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
Workshop: Taking photos with your smartphone
You will receive a variety of practical tips and tricks. Wim will explain how to make the most of your smartphone camera, for both iPhone and Android devices.
Suitable for all ages.
More workshops will follow, especially for children and young adults.