At the Korean Congress of Radiology (KCR) 2016, the second Asian Radiology Forum (ARF) was organized by the Korean Society of Radiology (KSR) to discuss how to promote collaboration among radiological societies in the Asian-Oceanian region. Representatives discussed promoting inter-society collaboration among their groups with a focus on the roles of the Asian-Oceanian Society of Radiology (AOSR) and its member societies. National delegates of the following radiological societies from Asia and Oceania, including the president or executive members, 192were invited to this meeting to introduce their activities in and contributions to international and regional societies, including AOSR, and to present their views regarding international cooperation among radiological societies: the College of Radiology Malaysia (MCoR), the Singapore Radiological Society (SRS), the Royal College of Radiologists of Thailand (RCRT), the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA), the Radiological Society of Kazakhstan (RSK), the Philippine College of Radiology (PCR), the Hong Kong College of Radiologists (HKCR), the Japan Radiology Society (JRS), the Mongolian Radiological Society (MRS), the Chinese Taipei Society of Radiology (CTSR), and KSR.

The current status of the representatives' societies was demonstrated focusing on their societies' activities in and contributions to international and regional societies, including AOSR. In this paper, we summarize the presentations made by each representative participant of the ARF at the KCR 2016, including the discussions and conclusions about the current status, expectations of AOSR, recommendations and suggestions for AOSR, and their societies' support of AOSR for promoting inter-society cooperation in different radiological societies of Asia and Oceania (Fig. 1).

The Malaysian Radiological Society was established in 1976 and joined the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia as a college within the academy. The MCoR is the only body representing radiologists in Malaysia and a college under the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia. The members of MCoR include clinical radiologists, oncologists, and nuclear medicine physicians. It has 8 co-opted council members representing special interest groups, including breast imaging, body imaging, cardiac imaging, interventional radiology, molecular imaging, neuroradiology, and pediatric radiology.

Contributions by MCoR include participation in national-level representation in committees and initiatives, including the Malaysia Medical Association (MMA) Radiology Fund, the National Specialist Register (NSR), the Radiological Advisory Committee (RAC), the Radiation Protection and Safety Commitee, the Conjoint Board for Postgraduate Radiology Training, the Committee for Private Healthcare Fee Schedule, and the Estee Lauder Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Program. At the international level are AOSR, the Asian Association of Radiology (AAR), and the Asian-Australasian Federation of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology (AAFITN). Contributions of MCoR to AOSR include hosting the Asian-Oceanian Congress of Radiology (AOCR) in 1995 and in 2020. Other potential contributions of MCoR to AOSR are hosting meetings, providing academic expertise to help train trainee radiologists in regions with fewer opportunities, and providing leadership by contributing to AOSR activities.

MCoR's expectations for AOSR has 3 aspects: to be a leader in regional radiology issues, including creating policies in education and training, and defining standards, practice guidelines, and policies on safety issues; developing regional networking and cooperation among radiologists and other radiology professionals or industry associates; and providing opportunities for radiologists from less-developed countries to undergo subspecialty training, clinical attachments, and research opportunities.

MCoR recommended engagement of less-active or non-active member countries, exploration of partnerships within the industry that could bring benefits to member countries, and reactivation of the AOSR radiology journal to provide member countries with opportunities for publishing their research.

MCoR is willing to continue to support AOSR by representation in the AOSR council and by participating actively in AOSR activities, hosting AOCR and other meetings as opportunities arise, providing their expertise as needed for AOSR's continuing education and other radiology-related activities, and helping develop future regional leadership for radiology.

The SRS was founded in 1977 and represents a non-profit society of radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and radiation oncologists. Their activities in and contributions to international and regional societies including AOSR, include promoting links and friendships with fellow societies locally and overseas and collaborating with many partner societies. They also participate in various AOSR-associated meetings including ARF, Asian Oceanian School of Radiology (AOSOR) Youth Club, AOSR delegate meetings, and AOSOR-SRS conjoint sessions.

SRS expects continued collaboration among society members, education of young radiologists, and support of local conferences. SRS contributed to AOSR by revamping the AOSR website and by collaborating with member societies to develop and run programs for AOSR.

The RCRT is a government organization under the supervision of the Medical Council of Thailand, and its main responsibility is regulation and certification of residency and fellowship training in diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine, and radiation oncology in Thailand.

RCRT's expectations from AOSR were life-long learning beyond boundaries through the AOSR countries' co-operation and working together through conferences and exchanging students and radiologists. RCRT also recommend that AOSR support radiologists and assist radiology students in training, education, and research. In their society's support to AOSR, RCRT hosted many educational courses, especially for young radiologists and trainees.

The IRIA, established in 1931, is a registered society with more than 13,200 members; its main objective is to promote the study and practice of diagnostic radiological and imaging modalities. IRIA has contributed to AOSR's executive committee, and it also hosted the 6th AOCR in 1991 at New Delhi with a great success. The 17th AOCR will be hosted by IRIA in January 2018 in Mumbai, India.

IRIA defined the following expectations from AOSR: AOSR should promote radiology and imaging sciences in the Asian and Oceanian region, especially in under-developed countries where there are fewer resources for and developments in medicine in general, and in the field of radiology in particular; AOSR should organize more academic programs under the AOSOR; all member societies should be equally involved in the endeavors of AOSR to promote radiology education in the Asian and Oceanian region; faculty for AOCR should be selected from all the member societies; and finally, the AOSR Executive Council should follow the constitution of AOSR in its letter and spirit, as this constitution safeguards the interest of all the member societies.

IRIA's contributions to AOSR consisted mainly of representation of member societies in the General Assembly and Executive Council of AOSR, membership subscription, constitution of AOSR, and submissions to the e-newsletter of AOSR. Additionally, they recommended e-learning to promote radiology education, increasing the number of fellowships, and creating an image bank for AOSR, to be used for educational purposes.

The RSK is a non-profit, non-governmental public organization and was established in 1977. It has 370 full members and about 1000 corresponding members and has grown significantly during the past 10 years. The main roles of RSK are the development and improvement of radiology in Kazakhstan, the education and training of its members and young radiologists, cooperation with other national radiological societies, and integration into European and Asian Oceanian radiology by becoming a full member of AOSR. RSK also organized multiple teaching and scientific meetings in different formats across Kazakhstan.

In 1998, RSK joined the European Association of Radiology (EAR) as an associate member. In 2012, RSK became a national full member of the European Society of Radiology (ESR). RSK has held the Eurasian Radiological Forum annually since 2005. It also has held a two-week educational course called “The European School of Radiology (ESOR) Astana Tutorial,” which provides almost 15 participants from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan the opportunity to meet and gain knowledge from speakers from Europe, Russia, and Central Asia.

RSK strongly believes that cooperation with AOSR will make a significant difference in the development of radiology in the entire Central Asian region (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan). Radiologists of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, in particular, will have the opportunity to increase their professional skills and knowledge through sharing and exchanging practices with AOSR colleagues via various lectures and training programs. One initiative resulting from their society's support of AOSR would be to organize an AOSOR in Astana, under the combined patronage of AOSR and RSK, for young radiologists of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.

The PCR and its 8 recognized subspecialty societies were established in 1948. PCR has approximately 1000 board-certified radiologists and 400 residents in training throughout the country. It has 4 subspecialty societies, including ultrasound, CT-MRI, interventional radiology, and radiation oncology. Their subspecialty societies have training workshops, scientific meetings, and an annual convention. Their training hospitals have fellowships for training in CT-MRI, ultrasound, and interventional radiology.

PCR's activities in and contributions to AOSR are limited by a lack of personnel and by travel concerns, but they are willing to host future AOSR meetings and to contribute to the AOSR via training programs. PCR's expectations from AOSR were access to the pool of speakers and fellowship opportunities.

The HKCR was incorporated in 1991 as one of the 15 constituent colleges of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. It comprises 3 specialties-radiology, radiation oncology, and nuclear medicine. HKCR's activities and contributions in international and regional societies include fostering close ties with sister societies and colleges outside Hong Kong and participating in international and regional congresses such as AOCR, the Chinese Congress of Radiology, KCR, the Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine, European Congress of Radiology (ECR), and Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). They have organized many conferences in the past 5 years, including Asian Society of Cardiovascular Imaging (ASCI) and the annual scientific meeting of HKCR. They have also supported professional academic bodies and associations in the Asian Oceanian region.

HKCR's expectations from AOSR are that AOSR should continue to organize activities towards the promotion of good radiological practice within the profession; that AOSR should raise awareness both within the public and within the medical profession of radiation protection; that AOSR should encourage and support research and scientific activities for its members and member societies; and that, AOSR should continue collaborative activities with international and regional societies. One specific HKCR suggestion for future AOSR meetings was that member societies encourage young radiologists to focus on important topics like radiation safety.

The main activities of the JRS are conducting scientific meetings, publishing a scientific journal in English, and collaborating with related societies or associations. The Japan Radiology Congress (JRC), one of the largest international meetings of the world with more than 22000 attendees and about 40 international speakers, is organized as a joint meeting of 4 societies, including JRS, Radiological Technology, Medical Physics, and Industries Associated to Radiological Systems. More than 40% of JRC presentations are in English, and about 40 educational programs and 30 luncheon seminars are included in JRC.

JRS's expectations from AOSR are a tremendous team of radiology that would benefit all member countries and provide new topics in both medical and technical aspects. They recommend a biennial AOCR major and minor and propose an AOCR minor with JRC in Yokohama.

To support AOSR, JRS continues to contribute to AOSR by organizing and hosting AOSR-related meetings during JRC, and they hosted AOCR in 1998 and 2014. They also support the AOSOR Youth Club by providing assistant secretaries, tutors, and trainees, and they invited AOSR member societies to JRS in 2016.

The MRS became a member of AOSR during AOCR in 1998. MRS currently has 350 active members and hosts 3 major annual meetings for interventional radiology and abdominal radiology, and for the national congress. MRS covers 13 affiliated subspecialty societies and publishes an official journal, “Mongolian Journal of Radiology.”

MRS's expectations from AOSR are regular contact with member societies via the AOSR newsletter and website; an increasing number of new member societies; organizing a regular joint symposium and visiting professors from AOSR; regular publication of an AOSR official journal; and coordination of a global online training program for Asian radiologists.

MRS recommends regular payment of membership dues, more active cooperation with large regional radiology societies such as JRS and KSR for globalization and innovation of AOSR, improvement of inter-society collaboration, and an exchange program.

The CTSR was founded in 1951 and comprises 958 radiologists and 254 members in training. The mission of the CTSR includes education, research, and clinical practice in the field of radiological science. To reach harmony and excellence through mutual communication and collaboration between CTSR and AOSR, CTSR hosted many international meetings, including AOCR in 2010, the ASCI in 2010, the Asian Congress of Abdominal Radiology (ACAR) in 2013, the Asian Congress of Thoracic Image (ACTI) in 2015, the Radiological Society of the Republic of China (RSROC)-KSR friendship symposium in 2013 and 2015, the AOSOR Youth Club in 2015, and an international MRI symposium in 2016. They also have collaborations with many international societies including KSR, the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS), the ESR, the RSNA, the American College of Radiology (ACR), and AOSR.

To support AOSR, CTSR proposed Taiwan as the location for international meetings because of its excellent public transportation system, generous spots and natural attractions, an experienced organizer, and multi-national cuisine, as well as its reputation for safety. To strengthen the relationship among AOSR member societies, CTSR proposes holding future radiological meetings in Taiwan and participation in AOSR meetings.

The KSR hosted AOCR in 2008, with 3100 participants from 62 countries. KSR supports AOSR by sharing office space and holding an annual contract between AOSR and KSR; they also provide an office staff member who may allocate 25% of their time for routine AOSR jobs. Additionally, a KSR international liaison director serves as the AOSR office director. To promote international exchange and collaboration among radiology societies in Asian countries, the 1st and 2nd ARF were held during KCR in 2015 and 2016. KSR has an international fellowship program to contribute to the distribution and improvement of radiology in different regions worldwide, especially in the Asian-Oceanian regions, encouraging mutual understanding as well as scientific cooperation. In 2016, 11 beneficiaries were selected for this fellowship program; 4 beneficiaries finished their training, and 4 beneficiaries were in training at the time of KSR. The KSR has held visiting symposia 13 times during the past 4 years in Asia with much success. Given the success of the visiting symposia, KSR has held Friendship Symposia for 2016 in India, Mongolia, and Indonesia. KSR organized 5 joint symposium sessions, including AOSOR during KCR 2016. A KSR-Society of French Radiology (SFR) joint symposium was held in October during the Journées Françaises de Radiologie (JFR) in Paris, France.

KSR's expectations from and suggestions for AOSR were to enhance AOSR activities to support member societies, to increase diversity of AOSR activities, to increase participation of member societies in AOSR management, and to create a stronger society system. Their expectations from and suggestions for AOCR are more academic attractions, including headquarter-driven quality control and becoming a congress comparable to RSNA and ECR in order to increase collaboration with them.

For KSR's support of AOSR, KSR is willing to continue to support the AOSR promotion booth during KCR and more AOSR office. KSR will migrate the ARF to AOSR and provide annual apply for the AOSOR-KSR conjoint session.

Many individual Asian and Oceanian radiology societies hosted and will host AOCR or meetings associated with AOSR. JRS and KSR hosted AOCR two times, and IRIA, MCoR, and CTSR have each hosted AOCR once. Most of the partner societies are willing to host AOCR- or AOSR-associated meetings. RSK currently has an important role cooperating with European and Asian Oceanian radiology by becoming a full member of AOSR. PCR's activities and contributions to AOSR are limited by lack of personnel and travel concerns, but they are willing to host AOSR meetings and to contribute to the AOSR via training programs.

Several partner societies have executive committees for contributing to AOSR. IRIA has contributed to AOSR in the executive committee. KSR supports the AOSR office by sharing space and staff. JRS and KSR regularly contribute to AOSR by organizing and hosting AOSR-related meetings during their annual congresses.

The partner societies' common expectations of AOSR were designated as follows: AOSR should be a leader in education and practice guidelines through conferences and the exchange of radiologists; AOSR should promote regional networking and cooperation among radiologists in the Asian and Oceanian region; AOSR's activities should be focused on more participation and diversity of member societies. Specifically, IRIA recommends that faculty for AOCR should be selected from all the member societies. One of JRS's expectations of AOSR was that AOSR should provide new topics in both medical and technical aspects. MRS expects regular publication of an AOSR official journal and coordination of a global, online training program for Asian radiologists.

Many partner societies recommended greater cooperation with less-active or non-active member countries for globalization and innovation of AOSR, improvement of inter-society collaboration and exchange programs, and reactivation of the AOSR radiology journal to provide member countries with opportunities for publishing their research.

RCRT recommended that AOSR support radiologists and radiology students with training, education, and research. IRIA recommended e-learning to promote radiology education, increasing fellowships, and an image bank of AOSR that can be used for educational purposes. JRS specifically recommended biennial AOCR major and minor and proposed AOCR minor with JRC. MRS recommended regular payment of membership dues.

Most of the Asian Oceanian radiology societies are focusing on expanding partner societies and enhancing globalization and collaboration programs through various international meetings and exchange programs. RCRT hosted many educational courses, especially for young radiologists and trainees. Specifically, RSK would like to organize AOSOR for young radiologists of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. JRS supported the AOSOR Youth Club by providing an assistant secretary, tutors, and trainees. CTSR is interested in hosting international meetings. KSR was willing to continue to support the AOSR promotion booth during KCR and more AOSR office.

The current status of the Asian Oceanian radiology societies is somewhat heterogeneous in terms of their societies' activities in and contributions to AOSR, expectations of AOSR, recommendations and suggestions for AOSR, and their societies' support of AOSR. However, they clearly have a common desire for increased globalization and innovation of AOSR and improvement of inter-society collaboration, which could provide many advantages for clinical practice, research, and education.