History and Background
At ESC Congress 2005 in Stockholm, some of the Editors-in-Chief of the National Societies Cardiovascular Journals (NSCJ) gathered to discuss the possibilities of optimising the collaboration and spreading of information from the ESC (essentially Guidelines). A forum composed of the ESC NSCJ Editors-in-Chief, initiated by Prof. Panos Vardas, Editor-in-Chief of the Hellenic Journal of Cardiology, came to fruition. The decision was taken that the Editors would meet on a yearly basis at ESC Congress.
At the 2006 meeting during WCC in Barcelona, a Task Force was created to ensure that there is a calendar of events bridging congress dates. Chaired by Prof. Ernst E. Van der Wall (NL), the initial Task Force also included Profs. Fernando Alfonso (ES), Giuseppe Ambrosio (IT), and Fausto J. Pinto (PT), all Editors-in-Chief of their national NSCJ.
An initial and important effort of the Task Force was to collect information about the ESC NSCJ. This was done in close collaboration with the European Heart House National Societies Office team. All pertinent information about each journal was gathered via a comprehensive questionnaire and the national NSCJ Editorial offices put a considerable effort into sharing their details for the benefit of this networking initiative.
Publication of the Constitution Document
The major outcome from the Task Force of the Editors' Club was the production of a “Constitution Document”, the Background, Rationale and Mission Statement of the “Editors’ Club”, written in order to set the basis for future collaboration among NSCJ Editors.
The target was to produce and issue a core document with fundamental principles upon which all NSCJ Editors would agree. Common goals have been identified and measures agreed to achieve them. This constitution document is, therefore, a formalisation of the NSCJ Editors' Club Task Force.
During the summer of 2008, this constitution document was published simultaneously in the majority of the NSCJ in English and/or national languages, so far in 39 journals. This is the first time a publication of this sort has been established within the ESC, with great success and interest.
Some NSCJ were published in both national languages and English, others elected a web-based publication supported by a commented article in their printed version. Others went to the extent of issuing a supplement entirely dedicated to the article. The Task Force is very grateful to the NSCJ Editors for the amount of involvement and dedication in the project!
Task force recruitment
During the ESC Congress 2008 Editors’ meeting, the composition of the Task Force was altered to include additional editors, aiming to involve as many different types of journals and have a greater geographic diversity (see members of the task force on the main page).
A new phase
The initiative has been formally approved and recognised by the ESC Board (autumn 2008). Dr. Steen Dalby Kristensen, FESC, ESC Vice President for National Societies and Fellowship, is responsible for reporting on the initiatives at the ESC Board level, which fully integrated the organisation under the umbrella of the ESC Membership department.
April 2009: Upon decision by the Task Force the initiative will henceforth be referred to as the NS Editors Network.
The ESC Congress 2009 introduced the session "Meet the Editors"
This new special session was dedicated to discussing relevant editorial issues organised in cooperation with the Editors' Network.
Programme:
Meet the Editors: insights and challenges
Monday 31 August 2009, 10:05-10:55, Room Brussels - Zone 4
Chairpersons: S. D. Kristensen, FESC (Aarhus, DK) and E. E. Van der Wall, FESC (Leiden, NL)
The Editors' Club initiative - an ESC Task Force - P. E. Vardas, FESC (Heraklion, GR)
National Society Cardiovascular Journals. Data and current status - G. Ambrosio, FESC (Perugia, IT) - replaced by F. Alfonso
Mission statement document. Summary and joint publication initiative - F. Alfonso Manterola, FESC (Madrid, ES)
The role of editors in CME. New proposals - A. D. Timmis, FESC (London, GB)
New Chair:
Following a long and successful term as Editors’ Network Chairman, Prof. Fernando Alfonso was succeeded during ESC Congress 2020 by Prof. Ignacio Ferreira Gonzalez, Editor-in-Chief of Revista Espagnola di Cardiologia.
The new Chairman is Dr. Jean-Jacques Monsuez, Editor-in-Chief of Archives des Maladies du Cœur et des Vaisseaux Pratique, elected for 2 years.
Two new positions also have been created to champion the below topics within the Editors’ Network:
• Young Community Representatives:
Dr. Vamos Mate
Prof. Dilek Ural
• ESC Guidelines Dissemination
Prof. Michael Aschermann
Prof. Goksel Cinier
The next elections will take place in 2023 for the mandate 2024-2026.
Our mission: To reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease.