ISICEM is a non-profit organization, which was created in 1980 around one international symposium and has expanded over the years so that we now run a series of 8 meetings annually, covering different aspects of intensive care and emergency medicine. In 1980, 187 attended our first meeting held in a single room and led by just 6 speakers. In 2019, we welcomed more than 6000 participants to our educational meetings, from 104 countries worldwide! ISICEM is fully independent - we are not part of a scientific society, so are free to invite the very best leaders and speakers from around the globe without having to abide by specific society principles, rules or quotas. The aim of ISICEM has always been and remains to improve the care of the critically ill patient through better clinical management, by facilitating ongoing education and training of all healthcare staff involved in patient care and supporting and encouraging constructive research in the field. Our hope is that every person who attends one of our events will learn something new and useful that they can take back to their units and share with colleagues to improve the practice of intensive care and ultimately patient outcomes.