Sydney was announced as the destination for the May 2025 event during the society’s 2023 conference in Edinburgh over the weekend.
The society aims to help advance the understanding, treatment and quality of life for women with endometriosis – which is believed to be at least one in nine women in Australia.
The conference win was secured by Australian Society of Endometriosis, who worked with Sydney’s specialist bidding agency, BESydney, on the bid.
“The World Congress on Endometriosis is the only congress in the world that focuses solely on endometriosis and the impact it has on all those with the disease,” said professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at UNSW Sydney, Jason Abbott, who led the bid for the event and will be the clinical president for the congress.
“It brings scientists, clinicians, researchers, and patients together into one space with the united goal of finding answers to the disease.
“The World Congress on Endometriosis is unique since it not only highlights well-known experts to share their wisdom but elevates new and emerging investigators through abstract-driven plenary sessions to ensure that cutting edge technologies, ideas, and advances are adding to our understanding of endometriosis.
“Those 120 plus plenary presentations, based on the quality of abstracts submitted, are what make our Congress ground-breaking.”
Gita Mishra, Professor of life course epidemiology in women’s health at the University of Queensland, who will also be the scientific president for the Australian congress says hosting the event will yield benefits for Australia on the global stage.
“It also represents an important opportunity to showcase Australia’s progress as the first country to enact a government funded National Action Plan for Endometriosis in 2018, that has created a foundation for the future, through capacity building, collaboration, and community engagement. This model has since been adopted by many other countries around the world.”
BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis Smith noted the subject specific expertise of the team behind the successful Sydney bid.
“Sydney was able to create an exceptional team of national representatives from across the spectrum of endometriosis research, clinical care and patient advocacy to lobby for this important event,” said Lewis-Smith.
“We know that by bringing people together through events like this, delegates are provided the opportunity to contribute to ideas and solutions that will impact the lives and wellbeing of women around the globe.”
Sydney will continue to provide a platform for the global discussion on women’s health issues, with the city also set to host the Asia and Oceania Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (AOFOG) Congress in 2026.
Sydney’s bid received support from the federal government’s Business Events Bid Fund Program, managed by Tourism Australia.
