As a National Cardiac Society member of the European Society of Cardiology you are entitled to your personal European Membership Card (EMC)*. The European Membership Card is a joint project of the European Society of Cardiology and its National Cardiac Societies – 54 National Cardiac Societies are now part of the programme**
What is the purpose?
The technical collaboration on this project has enabled standardisation and improvements to data exchange with the National Cardiac Societies, assuring a better identification and registration of National Cardiac Societies adherents as Members of the European Society of Cardiology.
The card is identified with the logos for the relevant National Cardiac Society and ESC. This personal card also displays the name of the member and his/her Membership Identification Numbers for ESC and the National Cardiac Society.
The card furthermore enables instant identification of the member via a barcode, and is already used in some countries to speed up registration at conferences or membership events. In addition, it is possible to use it for CME (Continued Medical Education) identification throughout Europe, or any other service requiring personal identification.
How do I obtain my card or renew it?
You receive your European Membership Card, by making a simple request to your National Cardiac Society. As a general rule, new card are printed once a year. As your National Cardiac Society is the main contact with the ESC in your country, we kindly advise you to contact your National Cardiac Society directly in the following cases :
- You have recently registered with a National Cardiac Society member of the ESC
- Your card has been lost/stolen
- You wish to change your personal information on the card (e.g. your family name…)
A bit of history
The EMC project was originally initiated by a task force of six National Cardiac Societies in 2001 and the project was unanimously accepted in March 2003 by the six National Cardiac Society Boards and the ESC Board, for implementation by all National Cardiac Societies wishing to participate. A deadline was set for April 2004 at the annual meeting of the German Cardiac Society, serving as a pilot. None less than 26 National Cardiac Societies joined this first phase of the project in 2004. In the following years, the programme saw 12 additional new National Cardiac Societies join in 2005, one in 2006, five in 2007, four in 2008, two in 2009, and in 2010 one country offers the EMC to their members, namely the new ESC member country in 2009, Kosovo.
Click here for a description and report on how the use of the EMC was launched in Germany in 2004
Important: Please note that the cards pictured above are examples, and that the official logo of each National Cardiac Society is printed on the European Membership Card.
* as a members of one of the National Cardiac Societies of the ESC (see here for full list) you are automatically member of the ESC.
** The Belorussian Scientific Society of Cardiologists has not enrolled in the EMC programme, nor has the Cardiological Society of Montenegro, who has become an ESC member at the occasion of the General Assembly in August 2010, during the ESC Congress 2010.
For any general questions regarding the European Membership Card please send your queries via the Contact Us form.