The Society was founded in 1967 - a brief history is on another page. It is a recognised international non-for profit organisation, with its own statutes.

The ESHG is one of the founding members of the International Federation of Human Genetics Societies.

Society organisation

The Society has an Executive Board (comprising the officers of the Society) who report to the Governing Board, which consists of about 30 members. According to the statutes, each year a sufficient number of Board members are elected to guarantee a balanced group in terms gender, speciality and country representation. Up to half of the vacant positions can be proposed by the Board. The General Assembly needs to confirm the proposals.

The Board has set up several committees to oversee aspects of the Society organisation, and appoints the chairmen.  A full activity report is presented to members at the membership meeting at the annual European Human Genetics Conference.  Nominations are sought from members for the prestigious ESHG Award, a prize donated previously by the Baschirotto family at the European Human Genetics Conference. 

There is an Annual Meetings Committee which is responsible for all the practical and legal arrangements for the European Human Genetics Conference.  The scientific programme is arranged by the Scientific Programme Committee.

The Policy and Ethics Committee (PEC) builds up the programme of the Public Awareness Session at the European Human Genetics Conference in collaboration with the Scientific Programme Committee.  The PEC's main current project is organising four workshops on topics impacting on professional practice and on the relationship between human geneticists and the public.

One of the most important activities of the EuroGentest Committee (www.eurogentest.org) and its sub-committees is focusing on quality, professional guidelines, training and its dissemination in the area of genetic testing.

One of the benefits of joining the Society is that members receive the European Journal of Human Genetics. The Board appoints the Editor who works closely with the Editorial Board to develop editorial policy.  There is a Publications Committee which works closely with our publishers over organisational and financial matters.