20 years of AFNET event in Berlin - MAESTRIA - Newsletter 01/24

AFNET celebrated its 20th anniversary on January 17th in Berlin with around 60 invited guests from science, business and politics. Under the motto “Together for the heart rhythm”, AFNET provided information about its research activities.

In her welcoming speech, the Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health, Sabine Dittmar, praised the AFNET as a “grown, high-quality structure”. Research networks like AFNET deliver important results that are incorporated into policy.

The chairman of the board of the German Heart Foundation, Professor Thomas Voigtländer, represented by managing director Martin Vestweber, emphasized the cooperations between both institutions over the course of the “20-year success story of AFNET”.

The President of the German Society for Cardiology (DGK), Professor Holger Thiele, greeted with a video message. He explained the common goals of AFNET and DGK and ended his greeting with: “Keep it up!”

The chairman of the AFNET board, Professor Paulus Kirchhof, gave an overview lecture about the AFNET and presented highlights of the past 20 years.

The hall in the AXICA Congress Center Berlin where the event took place was designed as an “Atrial Fibrillation Marketplace” where AFNET scientists presented examples of AFNET's work, including MAESTRIA – AFNET 10.