The History of ESRA: 1980 to Today

ESRA was officially founded

January, 31, 1980,  ESRA was officially founded by a Belgian Royal Decree, after intensive efforts and a meeting in Heidelberg on September, 24-25, 1979.

The First ESRA Annual Meeting 

ESRA held its inaugural scientific meeting in the McEwan Hall of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, from September 16 to 18, 1982, with Bruce Scott serving as the chairman of the event.

Creation of the initial ESRA zones
The first ESRA Zones were created and included Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg together), France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland), Iberia (Spain & Portugal), and the British Isles (UK & Ireland).

The «Carl Koller» Gold Medal Award was established

This award recognizes and acknowledges scientific achievements and an outstanding lifetime contribution in the field of RA and/or PM. Dr. John Alfred Lee (UK) was the first recipient at the Vienna Anual Congress in 1984.

The 2nd International Symposium of Regional Anaesthesia

It took place in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA.

ESRA´s first official publication

“The International Monitor of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy (IMRAPT)”, with Mathieu Gielen (The Netherlands) serving as Editor-In-Chief till 1995. Published every quarter.

Highlights of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy

Andre Van Zundert (Belgium) initiated the publication process of the «Highlights» in 1992, was the first Editor, and served as Editor–In–Chief until 1999. Up till now “Highlights” is the RAPM supplement dedicated to the annual congress is issued every September and includes all presented abstracts as well as full manuscripts related to the speakers’ presentations.

1st ESRA Cadaver Workshop in Innsbruck

The first ESRA Cadaver Workshop in Innsbruck took place as a zonal meeting of Switzerland – Austria, with Slobodan Gligorijevic serving as the chair of this event. This was a significant educational initiative, which was further improved and fine-tuned over the years. And remains one of the most popular ESRA activities until today. 

ESRA Newsletter

An ESRA Newsletter was first published and distributed to the society members in September 1998. This initiative was an idea of Athina Vadalouka (Greece), and continued to be printed until 2009. The initial editorial team consisted of Athina Vadalouka (as Editor–In–Chief), and Andre Van Zundert, Serdar Erdine, and Barry Fischer as group members. In 2015, the idea was revived as ESRA Updates and has been shared online with the society members.

The 1st ESRA Research Grant

At the ESRA Annual Congress in Rome, Italy, ESRA awarded its first Research Grant, being split between Spanish and Greek recipients.

The 1st World Congress

Barcelona, Spain hosted the first World Congress of Regional Anaesthasia and Pain Therapy, under the leadership of A. Van Zundert, ESRA President at that time in collaboration with all continental societies (ESRA, ASRA, LASRA, AFSRA, and AOSRA).

• The 1st East Europeen Cadaver Workshop

The First Eastern European Anatomical Cadaver Workshop was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, guided by Slobodan Gligorijevic and Narinder Rawal.

• The 1st Winter Week Conference

Another important event was added to the portfolio of ESRA scientific activities under the leadership of Andre Van Zundert and Slobodan Gligorijevic.

• PROSPECT foundation

Prospect (Procedure Specific Postoperative Pain Management) is a group of surgeons and anaesthesiologists, which was formed in 2002. Their aim was to develop a clinical decision support service, designed to improve the management of postoperative pain on a procedure-specific basis.

• Recognition of Education in Regional Anaesthesia Award (former «BBraun» Award)

ESRA introduced an Award for an «Outstanding Merit in the Training of Regional Anaesthesia Methods and Procedures», initially sponsored by BΒraun, and as such named the «BΒraun» Award. The inaugural recipient was Alain Delbos from France, in Berlin, Germany.

This Award is a reflection on Excellence in Teaching & Clinical Education in the field of RA in 2012 was subsequently renamed the «Recognition of Education in Regional Anaesthesia»

• ESRA-DRA (former EDRA)

To harmonize and establish high standards for regional anaesthesia in Europe ESRA and elsewhere, the Diploma of Regional Anaesthesia was created.

1st ESRA-DRA (former EDRA) exams

The first examinations towards the Diploma acquisition were held in 2006, during the 25th ESRA Annual Congress that took place in Monaco.

• ESRA Academy was founded

The online educational hub in Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine was created.

• ESRA Bylaws update

After 5 years of intense work, at the 2010 General Assembly in Porto, the newly reformed. ESRA Bylaws were approved, introducing a Council, a sort of «parliament» formed by elected representatives from the national societies, which replaced the zonal committees.

PROSPECT

In 2014, PROSPECT and ESRA formalized an agreement to strategize and plan their future partnership and to expand the group membership. To plan for its long-term future and introduce new members to the working group, PROSPECT was pleased with this potential, and a formal Memorandum of Association between the two entities was initially signed and was updated in recent years.

ESRA Instructor Course

The idea belongs to Jessica Wegener, from The Netherlands, who was the leader of the project, and since 2023, Peter Merjavy, UK, has been the Chair of the event. This course is one of the best for learning teaching skills and instruction techniques in a great environment! It is a unique opportunity to focus on “how” to teach in the first place instead of “what” is taught.

ESRA-DPM (former EDPM) 

As part of its ongoing commitment to advancing the field of pain management, ESRA established the ESRA Diploma of Pain Medicine (ESRA–DPM). The first written exams taking place in 2017, in Lugano and the first oral ones (viva) in 2018, in Dublin, both in the context of the ESRA annual congress.

e-ESRA First Edition

ESRA introduced innovative online educational initiatives – an interactive e-Congress (e–ESRA), which was first launched in 2018, by Alain Delbos (France) and Luc Mercadal (France). This internet-based activity brought a new dimension of online education, for a maximum learning outcome.

Recognition of Education in Pain Medicine Award 

This award is a reflection on excellence in teaching & clinical education in the field of pain medicine. Via this newly established annual Award, ESRA undertakes to support outstanding innovative activities or developments in the field of Pain. Philip Peng (Canada) was its first recipient during the 6th World Congress of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine, being held in Paris, France, as a joint event with the 40th ESRA Annual Congress.

• The 1st World Week and World Day of RA and PM

Under the presidency of Eleni Moka (Greece), ESRA, together with its Sister Societies AFSRA, ASRA Pain Medicine, AOSRA and LASRA, launched the 1st World Week and the 1st World Day of RA and Pain Medicine in January 2024, drawing more than 14.000 participants from more than 140 cities across all continents.

• ESRA New Logo

The emblem of the Society remained unchanged for 44 years, symbolizing its dynamism and strong recognition. By the end of 2024, ESRA introduced an updated version—modern, yet equally dynamic. The new ESRA emblem and logo are now officially registered in the Registry of Trademarks of the European Union, following the same process as the Society’s full name and acronym.

• ISO 9000:2015 received

ESRA has been awarded the ISO 9001:2015 certification by Swiss Approval North America. This internationally recognized certification demonstrates our commitment to excellence in quality management.

Uniting medical professionals

We build a world where acute and chronic pain are managed effectively, and patients receive the highest standard of care, tailored to their needs, and where our collective expertise and partnerships contribute to universal health coverage.