As we are encouraged to practice social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, many ophthalmology meetings are cancelled to prevent unnecessary social contacts. The Asia Pacific Tele-Ophthalmology Society (APTOS) was among the first to host monthly webinars and online meetings to meet the needs for interactions and academic exchange.
 
A year has passed and seemingly, the pandemic is still lingering, jeopardizing the lives and livelihoods of many. As a not-for-profit organization, APTOS continues to waive the registration fees for all participants in our annual symposium. Not only do we remove the barriers for abstract presenters, we have also set up the Best Paper Award and the Best Poster Award. The abstracts (one free paper and one e-poster) that score the highest in the respective categories will be chosen for the Awards. Abstracts will be reviewed and rated based on their originality and scientific importance. The Best Paper presenter will receive US$200 while the Best Poster presenter will receive US$100. All submitted abstracts do stand a chance to win.
 
Please go through the submission guidelines before making a submission. Awardees will be notified in the free paper sessions during APTOS 2021.