Conference

Lectures and work­shops from Tues­day, Octo­ber 27, to Friday, Octo­ber 31, 2026

Over the course of five days, lectures and work­shops will focus on topics that are of concern to many people with thalidomide-related disabil­i­ties: health, aging, assis­tive devices, personal assis­tance, mobil­ity, and barrier-free living.

The program is currently under devel­op­ment. The page is updated on an ongo­ing basis.

Monday

Octo­ber 26

Arrival Day

Arrival and Regis­tra­tion of Confer­ence Participants

Rooms at the Hotel Zuider­duin are avail­able start­ing at 3:00 p.m.

To help you find your way around, there will be group walks and bike rides through Egmond aan Zee and the surround­ing area several times a day. Start times and loca­tions will be announced at a later date. 

6:00 p.m. | Dinner, followed by a relax­ing evening at the pub

8:15 p.m. | Trivia Night at the Pub

Tuesday

Octo­ber 27

Presentations

Thematic Blocks: “Remem­ber­ing” and “Under­stand­ing”

Morn­ing Exer­cise: Seated Qigong and a bike ride through Egmond aan Zee and the surround­ing area

10:00 a.m. | Open­ing Remarks // Asso­ci­a­tion of Thalido­mide Victims North Rhine-Westphalia e.V. (Inter­essen­ver­band Conter­gangeschädi­ger Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V.) and repre­sen­ta­tives from the Netherlands

THEME SECTION: “REMEMBERING”

10:30 a.m. | What has (medical) care been like over the past 50 years – from a German perspec­tive? (Work­ing title) // Barbara Steffens 

11:00 a.m. | How we first met inter­na­tion­ally many years ago // Marjolein van Riel and Klaus-Werner Becker

Start­ing at 11:30 a.m. | Medical Presen­ta­tions

_ Thalido­mide – Then and Now. Birth Defects Caused by Conter­gan and Their Conse­quences // Prof. Dr. Klaus M. Peters 

_ Research Find­ings on the Psychoso­cial Conse­quences of Thalido­mide Embry­opa­thy and Insights // Dr. Alexan­der Niecke

1:00 p.m. | Lunch

TOPIC SECTION: “UNDERSTANDING”

Start­ing at 2:00 p.m. | Medical Presentations

_ What medical topics are we discussing today? The aging process, includ­ing reports from vari­ous coun­tries – such as Sweden, Ireland, the Nether­lands, and the UK – on their projects and medical find­ings // N. N. 

_ Medical Care, Then and Now (work­ing title) // Prof. Dr. Stephan Martin

_ The Devel­op­ment of Thalidomide-Related Damage and Secondary Damage // Christina Ding-Greiner, M.D.

_ How do thalidomide-related injuries occur? How do secondary injuries occur? What are the result­ing conse­quences through­out a person’s life? // N. N. 

_ Health in Old Age – Exer­cise, Cardio­vas­cu­lar Health, and Preven­tion // Rudolf Beyer, M.D.

7:00 p.m. | Dinner, followed by a relax­ing evening at the pub

Moder­a­tor: Susanne Wieseler, tele­vi­sion jour­nal­ist and author

8:30 p.m. | Trivia Night at the Pub

Wednesday

Octo­ber 28

Presentations and Workshops

“Think­ing Ahead” Thematic Block

Morn­ing Exer­cise: Seated Qigong and a bike ride through Egmond aan Zee and the surround­ing area

THEME SECTION: “THINKING AHEAD”

Start­ing at 10:00 a.m. | Medical Presen­ta­tions

_ Current Status of the Multi­dis­ci­pli­nary Medical Compe­tence Center (MMK) in Cologne and its Future Prospects // Prof. Dr. Klaus M. Peters

_ Health Care – Future Chal­lenges and Models of Inter­na­tional Coop­er­a­tion (work­ing title) // Prof. Dr. Stephan Martin

1:00 p.m. | Lunch

Start­ing at 2:00 p.m. | WORKSHOPS

_ Pain
_ Psycho­log­i­cal and Psychoso­cial Chal­lenges
_ Exer­cise and Nutri­tion
_ Ther­a­peu­tic Exer­cises and Gymnas­tics
_ Paint­ing Work­shop
_ Provid­ing Assis­tance for the First Time – What to Do? (English)
_ Presen­ta­tion of Assis­tive Devices 

5:00 p.m. | Presen­ta­tion of work­shop results in the plenary session (with simul­ta­ne­ous interpretation)

Moder­a­tor: Susanne Wieseler, tele­vi­sion jour­nal­ist and author

6:00 p.m. | Dinner, followed by a relax­ing evening at the pub with live music

8:15 p.m. | Trivia Night at the Pub

Thursday

Octo­ber 29

Workshops

Topics rang­ing from assis­tance to travel to tips on assis­tive devices

Morn­ing Exer­cise: Seated Qigong and a bike ride through Egmond aan Zee and the surround­ing area


From 10:00 a.m. and from 2:00 p.m. | WORKSHOPS

_ Need for Assis­tance and Accept­ing Help from Others
_ Changes and Adap­ta­tions to Living Spaces – What’s Possi­ble and Feasi­ble?
_ What Is Happi­ness? A Moti­va­tional Work­shop
_ Auto­mo­tive Work­shop with a Full-Day Exhi­bi­tion of Modi­fied Vehi­cles
_ Travel – It’s Possi­ble, Right?
_ Tips and Intro­duc­tion to Service Providers
_ Work­shops for Women and Men
_ Assis­tive Devices
_ Paint­ing Workshop 

1:00 p.m. | Lunch

6:30 p.m. | Dinner, followed by a relaxed evening of danc­ing, bowl­ing, and more.

8:15 p.m. | Trivia Night at the Pub

Friday

Octo­ber 30

Workshops

Topics rang­ing from assis­tance to travel to tips on assis­tive devices

Morn­ing Exer­cise: Seated Qigong and a bike ride through Egmond aan Zee and the surround­ing area

Start­ing at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. | WORKSHOPS

_ Need for Assis­tance and Accept­ing Help from Others
_ Modi­fi­ca­tions and Adap­ta­tions to Living Spaces – What’s Possi­ble and Feasi­ble?
_ Auto­mo­tive Work­shop with a Full-Day Exhi­bi­tion of Modi­fied Vehi­cles
_ Travel – It’s Possi­ble, Right?
_ Tips and Intro­duc­tion to Service Providers
_ Work­shops for Women and Men
_ Assis­tive Devices
_ Paint­ing Workshop

1:00 p.m. | Lunch

7:00 p.m. | Dinner, followed by a relax­ing evening with live music at the pub

Saturday

Octo­ber 31

Leisure

Walks, bike rides, art, and culture

Morn­ing Exer­cise: Seated Qigong and a bike ride through Egmond aan Zee and the surround­ing area

6:00 p.m. | Evening event

8:15 p.m. | Trivia Night at the Pub

Sunday

Novem­ber 1

Leisure

Walks, bike rides, art, and culture

Morn­ing Exer­cise: Seated Qigong and a bike ride through Egmond aan Zee and the surround­ing area

6:00 p.m. | Dinner, wrap-up, and farewells

8:15 p.m. | Trivia Night at the Pub

Monday

Novem­ber 2

Day of Departure

Check-out and depar­ture after breakfast

The confer­ence will be accom­pa­nied by a diverse program of side events, includ­ing art exhi­bi­tions, paint­ing and photog­ra­phy work­shops, movies, as well as bike tours and walks along the beach at Egmond aan Zee.