Stefan Johansson

We can now proudly present 99nicu Society, a fully registered non-profit society. This is indeed a milestone. We have now a structural platform for the long-term development of 99nicu as a global community for NICU health care providers. If you share our vision and mission, we invite you to become a member of the 99nicu Society by upgrading your regular website membership. To do this, simply log in and make the change in your dashboard. When we launched this web community back in 2006, our focus was on creating a space for NICU staff to connect and discuss relevant topics. These were the days before social media as we know them today, and like-minded geeky people gathered in Bulletin Boards on the Internet for “sharing and caring”, because “information wants to be free”. (Those were indeed the days!) Our first logo was... not too bad I was a part of a Mac computer community called 99mac, which provided an excellent online space. It struck me that NICU staff should have a similar platform. As a young specialist at the time, I wanted to network more efficiently than traditional conferences allowed, especially considering the demanding shifts we worked. The internet seemed like the perfect place for this endeavor. Since 2006, 99nicu has gone through various development phases, from the early “just do it”-years, to some more quiet periods, leading up to today’s setup with a full-fledged website, our well-regarded Future of Neonatal Care conferences, popular webinars, and a strong presence on social media, including our latest NICUVERSE project on Mastodon. From the beginning and until this change, 99nicu.org was practically my personal property. Since some time, I felt that we need to secure the long-term future of 99nicu, and together with the @Francesco Cardona, @Vicky Payne, @piatkat, and @Gustaf Lernfelt, we set forth exploring options to establish 99nicu a “legal entity”. The most straightforward solution was to tax-register 99nicu.org as a non-profit organization with the Swedish Tax Authority (Swe. Ideell förening). I am very happy that we have now completed this process, marking a significant milestone in the 99nicu’s history. While we will continue to offer regular and free website memberships, we are now introducing the option to join the "99nicu Society" for 10 EUR per year. What does this change mean? In essence, non-profit organisations in Sweden are membership-based and some simple rules apply. Anyone shall be able to sign up as a member, given compliance to the organisation’s by-laws stipulating some formal points (attached). The organisation shall be managed by a Board elected by the members at an Annual Meeting. The financials need to be reported in a simple form on a yearly basis. In the spring every year, all Society members will be invited to gather at a virtual Annual Meeting, to go through some formalities, including election of the Executive Board acting on behalf of the Society members. For this Founding year, the 99nicu Board will consist of myself (chairman), @Vicky Payne (secretary), @Gustaf Lernfelt (treasurer), and @Francesco Cardona and @piatkat (board members). In practice, our current web community remains unchanged. Memberships continue to be open and free for anyone connected to the NICU context. The new option is to become a 99nicu Society member for 10 EUR, with memberships requiring annual renewal (365 days from registration). You can become a member by upgrading through your User Dashboard (click here). You may wonder why there is a fee of 10 EUR per year and what benefits come with Society Membership. Simply put, we need financial support to run this show. As the saying goes, "there's no such thing as a free lunch." By becoming a member, you declare your support for our vision and mission through 99nicu.org and can actively participate in shaping our future. Society members will gain access to a dedicated Members Club for internal communication. We also aspire to offer enticing benefits in the future, including educational activities and discounted conferences, among other opportunities. The specifics will be hashed out collaboratively with you, our valued members. I am personally very happy about this step, that 99nicu has become a properly registered non-profit organisation. Over the years, founding 99nicu has changed my professional life as a neonatal health care provider, and I feel privileged to have connected here with such a vast network of like-minded people since we opened the first version of the website in 2006. However, as time marches on, it becomes essential to plan for succession, as is the natural order of things. Apologies for this lengthy post, now I must go and contemplate the mysteries of the universe... (Just kidding!)

📢 Exciting news! We are thrilled to announce the 4th "Future of Neonatal Care" conference, AKA #99nicuMeetup, a collaboration between 99nicu and the esteemed Portuguese Neonatal Society. 🌟 Join us on 03-06 of April 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal, as we explore evidence-based practices, cutting-edge research, and practical insights to enhance newborn care worldwide. 📅 Save the date and be part of this incredible opportunity to network, learn, and shape the future of neonatal care. Stay tuned for updates and browse https://99nicu.org/meetup2024/