WELCOME
The organising committee from ASMA asbl and WVV vzw, the French-speaking and Dutch-speaking Belgian members of EUMASS, has the immense pleasure to welcome you to the 25th UEMASS Congress in Liège (Belgium), held from Thursday 17 September to Saturday 19 September 2026 under the theme: “Social Insurance Medicine: climbing the steps toward tomorrow.”
SYMPOSIUM
AI’s Role in Defining the Future of Social Security and Assessment of Work
Brussels (on invitation)+ virtual
24th EUMASS CONGRESS STRASBOURG
MEDICINE 2.0 IN A CHANGING WORLD
THANK YOU!
1972-2022 EUMASS 50th ANNIVERSARY
In recent years, the sphere of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has catapulted to the forefront of innovation, presenting a myriad of opportunities and equally significant challenges.
On the 6th of March 2024, we will be looking at the opportunities that AI offers in the social security landscape at our conference “ Shaping Tomorrow: AI in Social Security and Work Capacity Assessment” thanks to the rich legacy and expertise of the European Union of Medicine in Assurance and Social Security (EUMASS).
With the support of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, through this conference, EUMASS aims to foster discussions that envision AI as a transformative tool in the health sector, enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of work capacity assessments and promoting a healthier, more inclusive labour market.
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- FINAL PROGRAMME V 1 March 2024
- REPORT SURVEY EUMASS MEMBERS
- VIDEO OF SYMPOSIUM
We look back on a successful congress in Strasbourg, organised jointly by our members UFMASS (FR) and ASMA (BE).
Nearly 600 participants from 35 countries attended the plenary sessions, workshops and parallel sessions over 3 days, with 13 keynote speakers, 32 parallel sessions, 97 oral presentations and 49 posters.
and we look forward to the next – 25th! -EUMASS Congress in 2026.
More information will follow soon.
In 2022, EUMASS celebrates its 50th anniversary in a festive way, followed by a jubilee congress in 2023 in Strasbourg.
In fact, on 17 March 1972 in Orléans, France, at a meeting of French medical officers, the French medical director, Dr Claude Persignan, and a Belgian observer, Dr René Rénard, discussed the idea of an organisation of medical officers from the countries of the then common market (European Economic Community (EEC): Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany) to promote scientific and social exchanges between the Member States. The idea of EUMASS was born and met with an enthusiastic response from doctors specialising in social insurance. In 1972, a dozen or so colleagues from the six countries set up the first UEMASS Council in Leuven (BE).
Dr. Jean-Pierre Bronckaers
1955-2026
In memoriam — Dr Jean-Pierre Bronckaers
1955–2026
Dr Jean-Pierre Bronckaers passed away on 12 October 2026, aged 71. With his passing, EUMASS has lost its living memory, a steadfast colleague and a friend deeply committed to our European association he had helped to build and sustain.
As Medical Director of the Belgian Liberal Health Insurance Fund, Jean-Pierre was a tireless advocate for social security medicine. Closely involved in the consultation bodies of Belgium’s National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI/RIZIV), he placed his knowledge and experience at the service of a profession whose responsibilities and role within our social protection system he vigorously defended. He was also a pillar of WVV, the Dutch-speaking Belgian professional association, to which he devoted considerable energy and commitment.
Within EUMASS, his contribution extended far beyond his duties as Treasurer. Jean-Pierre knew the association’s history, its decisions, its internal balances and the people who had shaped it. He could retrieve information, explain the reasoning behind an earlier decision and draw attention to a detail on which a project’s success might depend. He generously shared this knowledge, always seeking to help the association move forward.
As Treasurer of the Maastricht, Strasbourg and Liège congresses, he supported their preparation with meticulous care and perseverance. Behind the scientific meetings and social gatherings lie budgets to that need to be drawn up, procedures that need to be dealt with and countless issues that need to be resolved. Jean-Pierre undertook this, often unseen but essential, work with a profound sense of responsibility.
Illness forced him to announce his withdrawal from his activities in the autumn of 2025.
Yet his commitment to our projects remained undiminished. Even when he could no longer attend meetings, he continued to read the documents, scrutinise the financial estimates for the Liège congress and offer detailed, helpful comments. He also ensured that the handover was properly organised and that the information needed to carry on the work was passed on. This demonstrated both his professional integrity and his concern for those who would take over from him.
Being unable to attend the Liège congress was particularly painful for him. In his message to the General Assembly, he explained how much EUMASS meant to him: the belief that we can learn from one another, that we are not alone in facing shared challenges, and that European cooperation helps us move forward. He also recalled with affection the friendships formed within the Executive Board.
That last message was forward-looking. Jean-Pierre wanted EUMASS to remain attentive to its members’ concerns, encourage their participation and keep reflecting on developments in our profession, particularly in artificial intelligence and ethics. He welcomed those taking up the baton and expressed his confidence in the continuing European endeavour. His wishes for 2026 had already conveyed that same concern for others: a stimulating professional life, thoughtful and constructive discussions, and a successful congress in Liège.
“True to his convictions”, reads his death announcement. These words capture something essential about Jean-Pierre. His convictions found expression in practical commitment, faithfulness to the responsibilities he had accepted and a determination to contribute, to the very end, to the causes he held dear.
To his wife Nicole, his children, his grandchildren and all those close to him, we extend our warmest thoughts and heartfelt condolences.
Dear Jean-Pierre, thank you for everything you gave to our profession and to EUMASS. We will remember your rigour, your readiness to help and your friendship. And we will remember the enthusiasm with which you concluded your farewell message: “Long live EUMASS, and onwards to its centenary!”
Dr. Jean-Pierre Bon Schenkelaars
EUMASS President
Dr. Annette de Wind
EUMASS Secretary general
Professor Sir Mansel Aylward
1947-2024
It is with great sadness that we learned of Professor Sir Mansel Aylward’s passing on 29th May.
He was a visionary in health and social care innovation whose contributions have profoundly shaped our field of insurance medicine.
His unwavering commitment to the integration of health and social care and his focus on rehabilitation, re-skilling, and support for people with disabilities have laid the foundation for continued progress in these crucial areas.
Erudite, friendly and above all inspiring, he was a welcome guest at EUMASS meetings and, with his expertise, a key speaker at our congresses. It has been a privilege to have known him.
He will be missed, but he will live on in our daily work throughout Europe.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Dr J.-P. Bon Schenkelaars, President Dr A. de Wind, Secretary General
Dr. Roger Renard
1929 – 2025
Dr. Renard was one of the founders of EUMASS. Together with Dr. Claude Persigan (F- 1917-2012), Dr. Lebeer (BE), Dr. Kohlhausen (D), and a dozen colleagues from France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and Italy, he formed the first bureau of EUMASS. They were all convinced that cooperation could prevent new wars and believed in the European idea.
Within the ASMA, he served as Secretary for many years. As a polyglot, Roger was able to represent the ASMA efficiently, as English was not always the working language of UEMASS-EUMASS. Three languages were already in use at UEMASS-EUMASS: French, Dutch and German. Roger spoke these languages. So it was only natural that he became president of UEMASS-EUMASS in 1990 and of the Tournai congress in French-speaking Belgium in 1992. This congress marked a turning point because seminars were organised for the first time. These seminars were the precursors to the scientific communications organised since the Lille Congress in 2004.
Following the Tournai Congress, Roger assumed the presidency of ASMA until his retirement in 1996.
He will be remembered as a dedicated and discreet colleague.
Our sincere condolences go out to his family.
Dr. Renard remained heavily involved as a representative of the Association Scientifique de Médecine d’Assurance (ASMA), our Belgian French-speaking association, for UEMASS-EUMASS from 1980 to 1992.
WHAT’S NEW?
*** The new Executive Board and Scientific Committee were installed in the General Assembly of Strasbourg on Septembre 30, 2023
*** The 7th International Congress of Medical assessors in Slovenia, which took place from 11-12th of April 2024 at the Congress Center Thermana Laško in Laško, Slovenia, has been a wonderful success!
With over 500 participants over the span of two days from 12 European countries and Mexico, 56 renowned speakers from 6 European countries, the event truly brought together expertise from different medical fields, such as medical assessors, insurance medicine, rehabilitation medicine and the professional discipline of mental and behavioural disorders.
Conclusions from the Congress will enable further debate and research of specific features of health insurance policies in the context of reduced work capacity, examples of good practice in legislative interventions to tackle the growing problem of health absenteeism in Slovenia and elsewhere, as well as medical supervision of payments for health care services.
Collection of Lectures is available at www.7mkmis.com .
We look forward to the next edition of this thrilling Congress.
EUMASS: what do we stand for?
A word of our President:
In Europe, about 500 million people are covered by social insurance schemes for health care, disability or incapacity that are financed or agreed by society as collective social security. Decisions on entitlement to social benefits are usually based on medical assessments which, in turn, must be based on scientific knowledge, insurance medicine expertise and an inclusive society where social security and social protection enable every citizen to take part in social life in its various forms, to be an actor in his or her own personal development, and to participate in that of his or her relatives and society as a whole, irrespective of any limitations in all areas of private, public or professional life[i] . EUMASS is therefore a European federation of national associations or organisations of doctors involved in insurance and social security medicine in their country. … READ MORE