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Reach out and touch someone, was a phrase from a well-known television advertisement from a telephone company years ago. Our purpose at Neurosurgery is to do just that. Just like a local or international phone call, our reach is both local and global. Years ago, a long-distance phone call was at great expense and almost prohibitory. Now, it is expected and efficient. When I started on the CNS Executive Committee in 1998, we had an ongoing project called the “World Directory” of Neurosurgeons. Initially managed from the home of a California neurosurgeon, Dr George Ablin, on his own if you can believe it, he tried to track the worlds' neurosurgeons. Can you imagine? And then, Dr Joel MacDonald, with his unique computer skills, took the listing one morning and put it online. At the time, we wondered how many neurosurgeons there were in the world. There was a crude estimate of about 25 000, but that number was largely made up. No one knew how many were in China, for example, or in many other countries. But of course, now we do know.

er skills, took the listing one morning and put it online. At the time, we wondered how many neurosurgeons there were in the world. There was a crude estimate of about 25 000, but that number was largely made up. No one knew how many were in China, for example, or in many other countries. But of course, now we do know. Years ago, our journals mainly represented the neurosurgery of North America and Europe and some Asian countries, with the contributions of leaders from a group of other countries who sought a larger platform. Now, we receive submissions from neurosurgeons in almost all countries where neurosurgery is practiced. We not only need more than geographical diversity of course but also to represent the diverse nature of our changing specialty. Can a journal fail to catch the wave of innovation? Of course. Although our authors need to bring us their work from across the spectrum of neurosurgical topics, at the same time, our Editorial Board will work to encourage the new topics that shape us. That is part of our core mission.

nature of our changing specialty. Can a journal fail to catch the wave of innovation? Of course. Although our authors need to bring us their work from across the spectrum of neurosurgical topics, at the same time, our Editorial Board will work to encourage the new topics that shape us. That is part of our core mission. Certainly, there are articles with a message pertinent to all neurosurgeons and some with a more local focus. As one example, cost-effectiveness articles that use a local countries' cost data may not be so germane to a distant readership. Certain devices may not be available (yet) in one region or another. However, that is a key reason for international fellowship training, where a neurosurgeon travels to a site and hopes to “bring back” a new set of skills, a new management approach, or a new device. I was one such person in 1989 when I spent 2 years in Pittsburgh and hoped to bring stereotactic radiosurgery using the gamma knife back to Toronto. That did not happen for years and so I remained in Pittsburgh where we had the opportunity to train many visitors who returned home to become international leaders—in France, Japan, Colombia, Czech Republic, Belgium, Switzerland, Korea, China, Venezuela, Mexico, Jordan, Egypt, and many other places. To borrow a phrase, “they came, they saw, and they published.” Their own data, both clinical and basic science, not only advanced the field scientifically but also showed that new neurosurgery concepts could effectively reach the far corners of our world. Neurosurgery is expensive, and they championed the local investment necessary to advance their local patient care.

published.” Their own data, both clinical and basic science, not only advanced the field scientifically but also showed that new neurosurgery concepts could effectively reach the far corners of our world. Neurosurgery is expensive, and they championed the local investment necessary to advance their local patient care. I have admired the efforts of so many who travel to underserved areas and give of their time and skill to promote global health. One of my first mentors, Dr Mark Bernstein, made this a cornerstone of his career. This journal will continue to support their work and their messages. Through neurosurgical science, we can demonstrate the value of what we do, thereby advocating for the needed financial and personal investments in training, device acquisition, hospital and critical care infrastructure, and people. This is a core mission of NEUROSURGERY Publications. In support of that, the journal opens a new section on Global Neurosurgery, and I have asked Dr Gail Rosseau to serve as the first Section Editor. For those of you who know Dr Rosseau, you can testify to her energy and enthusiasm in this area. We welcome her and her assistant editors as we work to foster our international neurosurgical message. This Editor's Message has been simultaneously published in Neurosurgery, Operative Neurosurgery, and Neurosurgery Open. By Strebe - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16115375.