From congress to community: creating meaningful local impact with SIOP 2025

Addressing global inequities in childhood oncology care

Globally, paediatric cancer outcomes show a stark disparity: while 80% of children with cancer live in low- and middle-income countries, only 20% currently survive. In high-income countries, survival rates are significantly higher --- a contrast often referred to as the 80/20 paradox.

This reality shaped discussions throughout the 57th Annual Congress of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP), hosted in Amsterdam in late October 2025. Delegates examined how to close the survival gap through international research partnerships, specialist training and knowledge exchange, improved access to diagnostics and treatment, and the development of shared data networks and joint clinical studies.

The Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, the largest paediatric cancer research hospital in Europe, played a central role in these conversations, highlighting collaborative research and capacity-building partnerships that aim to improve outcomes globally.

Heroes: A World Without Childhood Cancer

To extend the scientific focus of the congress into the public realm, SIOP 2025 featured a city-wide Impact Programme. The exhibition Heroes: A World Without Childhood Cancer took place at De Hallen Amsterdam from 15 October to 15 November 2025 and was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Máxima.

For the exhibition, children undergoing treatment for paediatric cancer in the Netherlands, Indonesia, Suriname, Kenya and Armenia created drawings of imagined superheroes with the power to help eradicate paediatric cancer. Professional illustrators transformed these drawings into large-scale movie-style posters, displayed prominently in De Passage, a cultural corridor visited by over three million people each year.

By making the 80/20 disparity visible in a public, accessible setting, the exhibition encouraged reflection, awareness, and dialogue --- demonstrating how a scientific congress can also foster civic understanding and community engagement.

ACB’s role in supporting an impactful congress

The Amsterdam Convention Bureau worked closely with the Princess Máxima Center, the SIOP organising committee, and De Hallen from the earliest stages of the bid through to the event itself. ACB facilitated connections across the city’s healthcare, cultural and academic networks and provided subvention and programme support to develop the Impact Programme. This partnership ensured the congress integrated smoothly into the city, provided a welcoming delegate experience, and delivered a meaningful legacy that extended beyond the conference venue.

A model for mission-driven international congresses

SIOP 2025 demonstrated how a medical congress can extend its influence beyond the conference hall, combining rigorous scientific exchange with meaningful engagement across the city. By drawing on Amsterdam’s collaborative healthcare ecosystem and cultural institutions, the event showed how international meetings can strengthen local partnerships, raise public awareness and contribute to lasting global impact. For organisations looking to create conferences that are both professionally significant and socially purposeful, Amsterdam provides the infrastructure, expertise and shared ambition to make that possible.