2020, as we all know, was a year of challenges, posed mainly by the hardships brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. As officers of Spine Centers and Fellowships, we worked as a team to meet the goals set in 2019 and achieve the best standards in education for our members despite the adversities.

This year, we welcomed two new centers in Latin America: Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein and Hospital Getulio Vargas in Brazil, totaling 16 training centers of the highest educational level in terms of staff and research, among other factors. Thus, we continue to be present in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Mexico. This inspires us to keep supporting and improving our current centers, and to continue the search for new teams that want to be part of our community.

In order to provide our members with constant training, we developed a new webinar format hosted by the training centers called Spine Centers Club Webinar, in which topics related to pathology in trauma and tumors were covered. Given the success and good reception of these events, it is expected that next year these webinars will be held from each individual center, expanding the range of topics offered.

Finally, I would like to invite you to our regional course, which will be held in Bogota in November 2021, and will host the first meeting of fellows and ex-fellows, with the possibility of presenting your research papers either orally or through e-posters. Stay tuned for the submission deadlines so we can meet at this event that seeks to strengthen these ties of educational and research fraternity.

Let me remind you that our Fellowship Short-Term, International Exchange and Associate Fellowship programs continue to take place. They provide multiple opportunities for our members to participate and receive the best possible education and formative experiences, which benefit our patients and our medical practice.