35th European Immunogenetics and Histocompatibility Conference

Dear colleagues,

We feel proud and privileged to be allowed to organize the 35th EFI Conference in 2022 in the Netherlands with the theme ‘Tolerance, Acceptance and Permissiveness’. This conference is a joint conference with the 18th International HLA & Immunogenetics Workshop. It will be organized by the HLA Working Party, the Netherlands (HLA-WN) and is additionally supported by various Dutch researchers in the HLA community, who are all part of the Local Organizing Committee. In close collaboration with the EFI Scientific Committee and Educational Committee, we are establishing an interesting program around this theme.

The Netherlands is known for its tulips, wind mills and polder landscapes. But even more important, the Netherlands is characterized by a long history of tolerance, acceptance and permissibility. In the seventeenth century, the Dutch Golden Age, the Dutch Republic was the only country in which freedom of conscience was enshrined in the law, resulting in the influx of refugees of all possible religious backgrounds. Moreover, the Republic was the established shelter for those who found the opportunity here to publish works that would elsewhere be banned immediately. Even today, the Netherlands is known as one of the most permissive societies in the Western world. Tolerance, acceptance and permissiveness are also key concepts in histocompatibility. For H&I professionals they are the ultimate aims to be achieved by combining basic and translational research, diagnostics, and clinical evaluations. Being connected to concepts of tolerance, acceptance and permissiveness for almost 400 years, the Netherlands in general, and Amsterdam in particular, offer the perfect environment for the 35th EFI Conference in 2022.

Amsterdam is listed among the world’s top ten conference destinations. The city has an excellent track record of hosting prestigious international conferences. In the very heart of the city, we have selected a unique conference location which will boost the conference experience.

We are looking forward to meeting you again!

Sebastiaan Heidt and Eric Spierings,
Co-chairs for the 35th EFI Conference