The World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH) organizes a World Congress every two years. The Board of Directors begins the process of selecting the host location for each Congress at least four years before the event.
The location of the 20th World Congress in 2028 has already been selected, and the Congress will be held in Lyon, France.
WAIMH is now inviting bids to host the 21st World Congress in 2030. Expressions of interest for future Congresses are welcome. Formal bids for the 2030 World Congress must be submitted to the WAIMH Central Office by 30 April 2027.
Submitted bids will be presented to the Board online in May 2027. The host site for the 2030 Congress will be selected by the WAIMH Board during an online meeting in June 2027.
What the Board of Directors expects from a bid
- A presentation by the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), established in cooperation with a WAIMH Affiliate Association that is actively engaged in the country or region where the Congress is proposed to take place. Please note that the Chair of the LOC, and preferably other LOC members, should be members of both WAIMH and the relevant WAIMH Affiliate Association.
- A presentation of the proposed Congress venue and its surrounding area.
- A presentation of the Professional Congress Organizer (PCO), including the key individuals who would be responsible for organizing the Congress.
- A preliminary detailed budget for the Congress, including proposed registration fees, estimated number of delegates required to cover Congress costs, Professional Congress Organizer fee, and a WAIMH license fee of $50 USD per delegate (this supports the essential activities of the organization). Information on plans for social events and proposed pre- and/or post-Congress tours.
- We welcome and strive for diversity in languages and cultures; 12 of the 19 WAIMH World Congresses were held in countries where the official language was other than English. We do need to have a common language for organizational purposes, and that is English. Therefore, the communications with the Central Office as well as official Congress language is English. If the local Affiliate wishes to have translations of presentations, the cost of these translations needs to be factored into the budget.
Bids should be submitted by email to the WAIMH Executive Directors, Kaija Puura and Reija Latva, at office@waimh.org.
>> Learn more on the WAIMH website.
