European Council on Eating Disorders (ECED) General Meeting

The ECED was formed in 1989 out of a desire for more dialogue and discussion pertaining to eating disorders. The ECED is an informal multidisciplinary network of people throughout Europe who work with eating disorder sufferers in a variety of contexts. After the first meeting in London, subsequent biennial meetings attracted an ever-increasing audience with professionals from all over Europe (and beyond) expressing interest in the format of ECED meetings.

In contrast to many “mass market conferences”, the focus of our Meeting is on dialogue, contact and interaction. Thus, debates in the tradition of good old parliamentarism, are the core format. Obviously, the scientific world language, nowadays English, may be a hindrance for non-native speakers. Thus, we would like to remind native speakers first to slow down in their own contributions and second to look on content, not form in non-native speaker; we would like to remind non-native speakers to be courageous.

Currently we meet every two years in a designated European city. Our next meeting will be in Leiden, the Netherlands, in September 2023.

Attendance is limited to some 250 delegates on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis. The format of our three-day general meetings usually involves some challenging and rigorous debates on the ‘hot’ topics of the world of eating disorders. Two speakers are invited to present widely opposing views and the audience is then invited to join in, after which a vote is taken on whether to accept or defeat the motion.

Apart from this there are several parallel sessions held with short presentations, followed by a discussion of the issues raised. Although the subjects presented may be research papers, they can also include some new innovations in theory or therapy presenters may wish to discuss with colleagues from a variety of professions and special-interest groups.

For more information, you can consult the official website: https://ecedleiden2023.eu/program/