Dear Colleagues and Friends,

On behalf of the organizing committee, it is with great delight to welcome you to the 2021 KAPARD-APAPARI Joint Congress, co-hosted by Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease (KAPARD) and Asia Pacific Academy of Pediatric Allergy, Respirology & Immunology (APAPARI), from May 20^th to 22^nd, 2021

In consideration of our participants’ safety as well as our intellectual aspirations, the organizing committee has decided to switch the 2021 KAPARD-APAPARI Joint Congress into a virtual congress. Although it is unfortunate for us to meet face-to-face, we expect many doctors, researchers and students in the Asia-Pacific region to access more easily and share their knowledge in the virtual congress. In Seoul, APAPARI Congress was successfully held twice in 2005 and 2015, and it is our great pleasure to host the third-time APAPARI Congress. We will prepare with all our hearts, and I wish you could grace us with your presence and support.

Under the theme of "Different Situations, Same Goals: A Continuing Challenge in the Pediatric Allergy and Respirology of the Asia-Pacific", we hope that 2021 KAPARD-APAPARI Joint Congress will be a rewarding experience for all participants. Our world-renowned speakers and chairs will be the conduit for all the latest innovations and trends taking place in allergic diseases.

There was a hardship in good times, and there was always a hope in times of hardship. Now, we are facing an unprecedented global crisis, but we believe that we can overcome this difficult time and open a new era. We will do our best to produce a valuable and successful Virtual Congress.

We look forward to seeing you at the 2021 KAPARD-APAPARI Joint Congress!

Sincerely yours,

• Soo-Jong Hong, M.D., Ph.D Congress President,
  KAPARD-APAPARI Joint Congress 2021

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It was my great wish to travel to Seoul in May 2021, and to meet you all in person, while attending a “good-old-fashioned congress” at our Joint KAPARD-APAPARI Meeting. However, due to this terrible persisting pandemic the local organizers had to change their plans, and decided to have a virtual meeting, that will be live streaming. The local organizers have done a fantastic job in setting up this virtual meeting, selecting an international group of excellent speakers, and I urge you to check the program at the website of the meeting. I am sure you will discover new findings in pediatric allergy, respirology and immunology.

Needless to say, that allergic diseases in children still constitute a growing health problem, affecting millions of children and their families in the Asia-Pacific region, and having a considerable socioeconomic impact worldwide. Needless to say, that more research in Asian countries is needed, aiming to solve specific Asian issues in pediatric allergy, issues that are country specific.

Therefore, it gives me great pleasure and honor to invite all APAPARI members and all doctors who are interested in pediatric allergy, respirology and immunology to online attend our virtual APAPARI congress in collaboration with The Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease (KAPARD) with will take place from 20 to 22 May 2021.

Indeed, this pandemic is ongoing, and after our excellent virtual Kyoto meeting, in 2020 in collaboration with WAO an JSA – again APAPARI will have its annual meeting, in collaboration with KAPARD, as a virtual meeting. Let us hope it will not become a yearly habit. We need life meetings with face-to-face interactions and discussions, the input of enthusiastic audiences, and various social activities that offer so much more excitement, passion and learning opportunities.

Let us hope for a better 2022, and… for a live meeting? Let us all stay strong and positive, let us take good care of each other, and let us look forward to this exciting virtual meeting from Seoul, in May 2021.

Warm regards,

• Hugo Van Bever President APAPARI (2019- 2021)