With 1400 registrations so far, this Leipzig congress already appears as one of the major successes among all WAIMH congresses. This is the double result of the hard work of the LOC, headed by Kai von Klitzing, and of an attractive program made up by the PC headed by Neil Boris. This success is also due to the activity of the widely extended GAIMH association, established in three different German speaking countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). GAIMH has very wisely planned for having its annual meeting in accordance with WAIMH world congress. In addition, Leipzig is a particularly attractive site for a world congress, with its long tradition of fairs, and exceptional scientific, artistic, and political background.
This meeting will also be a turning point on the organisational level of WAIMH, as we will elect two representative members of the Affiliates and they will join our Board. A gathering of the Affiliate presidents or their representatives will be held on the first day of the congress, so that people get to know each other better and start getting organized as a group.
On the scientific level, the DC 0-3R symposium will raise the key issue of the impact we can/should have on the DSM V. The Massachusetts IMHA has written to the DSM Task Force making suggestions and I urge all our Affiliates to take a look at this letter (enter the WAIMH site) and to discuss it with members. At the end of the road, we should have sound suggestions to offer the DSM Task Force.
Two days before the congress, the EC will meet and discuss several issues. One of the major ones is how to establish Training Institute within WAIMH that would make use of the exceptional expertise WAIMH members all around the world have accumulated. In addition, this would be an important source of funds that would allow the organization to be less dependent on membership and congress registration fees. We definitely need to make our world association more firmly anchored financially, especially in these times of instability. The second major task of the EC meeting will be to finalize the planning for our next congress, in 2012, for the very first time in Africa.
Finally, we will all meet and catch up, share and learn, applaud to Awards, and look forward meeting again…in Cape Town, 2012.
Vol. 18 No. 2 Spring 2010 – President’s perspective. Welcome to Leipzig!
Authors
Guédeney, Anton,
President of WAIMH,
France
