Incoming President's Address

Abstract

It is a great honour to me to have been elected to this, the highest office of our Society. I accept the task in the knowledge that there are great duties and tasks to fulfil now and in the coming three years. I was very pleased that it was possible, as President-Elect, to take part in a lot of activities of the Executive Board as well as representing the ISPO Board on the Boards of Interbor and IVO . It has to be stated that many initiatives have been taken in the past three years by the Board members, the Task officers, the National Members Societies and certainly also by the individual members of ISPO. The result is that I can now lead a healthy Society although I am also aware that a rapidly growing society needs a firm structure with flexibility in a form in which each member can feel at home. It will not be possible to make an individual approach to everybody, but the new Board will really try to go on with a philosophy in which constructive ideas may be incorporated. It is with great pleasure to announce that we now have 20 national member societies and nearly 2300 members. New faces have appeared on our Board and in committees. A lot of work has to be continued. We may look forward to the next Triennium with confidence, but with a strong awareness of the task which faces us. We have to work with the International Agencies to raise standards of training of professionals and treatment of patients. We have to continue with activities in the Developing World which have already been formulated and approved by the Executive Board and published in several reports. Of great importance is Education. The President’s Report has given a review of all the activities of the last three years consisting of symposia, congresses, instructional courses and workshops concerning education in prosthetics and orthotics and rehabilitation engineering. In the next Triennium these activities will continue, not only within the Society but also in close co-operation with other societies. A good example is the European Congress on the Advancement of the Rehabilitation Technology, 1990, where the organization will be in the hands of three societies, one of them being ISPO. I would like to stimulate activities on education in the National Member Societies and also stimulate co-operation between different societies. It is evident that with the awareness of the increase in knowledge and the raising of standards the numbers of members of our societies will grow. New initiatives are welcome. Another important subject of education is related to the EEC council directive on the recognition of education of the professions. The ISPO/Interbor Education Commission has to continue its activities. Now we are at the end of a very successful Congress at Kobe, Japan, under the Chairmanship of Professor Tsuchiya and our Secretary-General, Seishi Sawamura. All the Japanese organizers really deserve our deepest gratitude for all the hard work which has been done. The performance was excellent. In every sense, it was a great success both scientifically and socially. I would especially like to express my thanks to Seishi Sawamura. He has given an enormous stimulation to our Japanese friends to fulfil their task, the ISPO World Congress. I would like to express our gratitude by declaring that we will recommend to the next Board Meeting that Seishi Sawarnura will be appointed as the Official Consultant for Asia for ISPO. We are sure an equally successful event awaits us in the United States of America. I urge you to support our American friends by responding to their requests and most of all by your presence in Chicago. I would like to thank John Hughes as President of the Executive Board of ISPO for the Triennium 1986-1989. In the last three years we have worked very closely together as already mentioned on several occasions. His knowledge of the Society, his leadership which has been illustrated by clearness, intelligence and resolution has been greatly in evidence. On behalf of the whole Society I would like to