WFNS Journal: Ubuntu Unity and Upward

Over 100 years ago, the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, commented, “The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.” Four decades later, British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, marked the end of the darkness that ensued after the Second World War, by declaring that “most of our people never had it so good.” Today, are we in a Grey moment or a Macmillan moment?

As a species, neurosurgeons are insufferable optimists. I would proclaim that this is a Macmillan moment. That despite the darkness of war, discord, and inequities in health care, we as a profession will light candles of knowledge with scholarly advances. In October, when I was informed that I had been selected as Editor-in-Chief of the WFNS Journal, I felt deeply humbled and honored. I am inspired to have a voice and play a role in the 130 global neurosurgical societies that represent over 40,000 neurosurgeons worldwide. Our goal with the WFNS Journal is to produce the highest quality manuscripts and ensure the journal is indexed in the relevant databases, in accordance with the mission of the WFNS to further the worldwide practice of neurosurgery, advance neurosurgical science, and increase the positive global impact of the field.

Africa is where our collective umbilical cords are buried, and at heart, we are all Africans having migrated from here tens of thousands of years ago. So, it is only fitting that at this congress, we exchange the spirit of Ubuntu. “I am, because we are.” Ubuntu represents international cross-pollination, empathy between all continents and all neurosurgeons regardless of race, gender, geography, and socioeconomic status. Our goal will be to create a journal that practices Ubuntu by promoting diversity and scientific advancement, especially in low- and middle-income countries, by empowering a generation of young neurosurgeons to be thoughtful and helping the advancement of scientific research on a global scale.

“The gross domestic product losses from patients suffering from neurosurgical diseases will exceed $4.4 trillion over the next 15 years,” soberly pointed out by Dr. Jim Rutka, “with an additional 23,000 neurosurgeons needed to care for patients in Africa and South Asia.” Be it the challenges of hydrocephalus, traumatic brain injury, or epilepsy, the deficiencies in the delivery of basic neurosurgical care are deeply humbling.

William Butler Yeats once said, “out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric; but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry.” The WFNS has experienced discord in the last few years; however, I am certain we will move forward with a spirit of unity, Ubuntu, and empathy for all, while creating a journal that would befit a global standard and make us all proud. I personally pray and request that you help us with this endeavor and invite all of you to participate by sending us your manuscripts and supporting us with your reviews. We are asking for involvement of people across the spectrum and the globe, be it senior attendings, mid-level neurosurgeons, residents, and medical students. Finally, I would urge all of us to look upward and recommit ourselves to an atmosphere of scholarly and scientific research, of thoughtfulness and innovation in terms of the care of our patients.

We are privileged to practice an art that constantly humbles us, be it the grandeur of the sylvian fissure, or the posterior cranial fossa, or the instrumentation of a spine. We have a specialty that is enriched, and we look forward to moving upward with your help and participation.

Ancora Imparo. I am reminded of the words of Michelangelo when he was shedding his mortal coil: Ancora Imparo—“I am still learning.” We are all still learning and that is the DNA of all neurosurgeons. I hope you will join us for this exciting odyssey.

Conflict of Interest

None declared.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
30. November 2023