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Welcome Letters
Welcome from the IPOS President
Welcome from the Congress Chairs
As President of IPOS, and on behalf of the IPOS Board and the IPOS Federation of National Societies, it is with great joy and pride that I invite you all to join us in Vienna, Austria on 21 – 25 June 2009, for the 11th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology! We are indeed honored and privileged to have Professors Elisabeth Andritsch and Hellmut Samonigg serving as the Co-Chairs of the 11th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology in Vienna. My personal thanks go out to Elisabeth and Hellmut, their colleagues in the Austrian Platform (Society) of Psycho-oncology (ÖPPO), the local Austrian 2009 Congress Committee and its members, as well as the IPOS International Scientific Committee, for all of their hard work, dedication and determination to bring you the best World Congress of Psycho-Oncology ever.
We are fortunate to be able to build on the enormous success of the 10th World Congress held in Madrid in 2008, where over 850 attendees from around the world gathered to learn, teach, network and advance the field of psycho-oncology. You can expect the 11th World Congress in Vienna to retain the best elements of past IPOS World Congresses and to introduce unique and innovative methods of learning and networking. The theme of the Vienna Congress is “Multi-disciplinary Perspectives in Psycho-Oncology: Interaction and Integration.” The program will be rich in content that is appealing to non-mental health professionals such as nurses and oncologists but also vital in helping psycho-oncologists build and work effectively as part of multidisciplinary cancer care teams.
Our very popular pre-Congress Psychosocial Academy workshops will be offered again this year at the IPOS World Congress in Vienna. The Psychosocial Academy Workshops will take place on 21 and 22 June 2009 at the site of the Vienna World Congress. There will be a number of Psychosocial Academy Workshops given in Vienna that were extremely popular at past World Congresses, as well as a good number of new and exciting workshop topics led by inspiring teachers. I urge you all to attend both the World Congress (23 – 25 June) as well as the pre-Congress Psychosocial Academy Workshops (21 – 22 June).
In 2008 we successfully established the IPOS Federation of National Societies. We will be conducting the second annual Federation Board meeting at the Vienna World Congress. If your national society has not yet joined the Federation, or if you need more information on how to join or build a national society in your country, please plan to attend the Federation Board meeting. Please also note that we will have a limited number of travel scholarships available for attendees from low- and middle-income nations.
Vienna is a beautiful and historic city that is a delight to visit and enjoy with your colleagues, friends and family. Home to Sigmund Freud and Viktor Frankl, Vienna has inspired us all, directly or indirectly, in so many aspects of our daily work with cancer patients confronting mortality and the limitations of life. I suspect that this World Congress in Vienna will be an opportunity for many of us to examine and embrace the powerful meaning of the work we do in psycho-oncology in our lives in general. When we rise above our own individual concerns and connect to something greater than ourselves, we find the greatest possible meaning in our work and in our lives.
So, to my many friends and colleagues around the world, and all of the new friends and colleagues I hope to meet and greet at the next IPOS World Congress in June 2009, please come join us in Vienna! Come join our mission and our movement to improve, enhance and expand psycho-oncology around the world. Join us in Vienna to learn, teach, network, advocate and celebrate.
Welcome to Vienna! Willkommen in Wien!
William Breitbart MD
IPOS President
On behalf of the IPOS Board of Directors, 2009 Congress Committee members, and the Austrian Platform of Psycho-Oncology (ÖPPO), it is a great honour and pleasure for us to invite you cordially to the IPOS 11th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology in Vienna, Austria, 21 – 25 June 2009.
The field of psycho-oncology has been recently well-established worldwide. Nevertheless, it is our interdisciplinary task and responsibility to continue to advance and to optimize the standards of care for cancer patients as well as to encourage ongoing research. IPOS activities inspire collaboration between professionals in cancer care and science using IPOS World Congresses as a platform to communicate. An important step for international networking was the establishment of the Federation of National Societies by the IPOS Board of Directors, and we will celebrate the Federation’s first anniversary in Vienna.
The theme of this upcoming congress, “Multi-disciplinary Perspectives in Psycho-Oncology: Interaction and Integration,” represented and symbolized by the Congress logo, will give us the opportunity to share the varied expertise and different experiences of professionals worldwide who are involved in the care of patients with cancer and their families and in psycho-oncology research. We would like to invite and encourage you to submit abstracts for the Congress to contribute to the scientific programme with oral or poster presentations.
The Psychosocial Academy, which will be held in conjunction with the IPOS World Congress from 21 – 22 June 2009, will offer you the opportunity to participate in interactive workshops lead by international experts and will include different practical, methodological and scientific topics.
Vienna is waiting for you! The capital of Austria is famous for both its musical and cultural tradition as well as for different psychotherapeutic innovators, including Sigmund Freud and Viktor Frankl. During the Congress, we will engage all of your senses at the Opening Ceremony and at the Gala Dinner with Viennese and Austrian specialities combining beauty, friendliness and diversity.
We will do our best to ensure that you enjoy your stay in Vienna and hope for your active participation in the Psychosocial Academy and the IPOS 11th World Congress.
We are looking forward to welcoming and meeting you in Vienna!
Elisabeth Andritsch PhD Hellmut Samonigg MD
Chairs of the Congress
