Notes from the WFMH Congress/World Assembly for Mental Health in Vancouver (Last Updated On: ) Notes from the WFMH Congress/World Assembly for Mental Health in Vancouver 22-27 July 2001 Dr. Chuni Roy (left) head of the Organizing Committee for Vancouver, handing responsibility over to Prof. Graham Burrows, who is in charge of the program for the Melbourne Congress in February 2003. The organizing committee led by Prof. Chunilal Roy reported that there were 1200 participants from 60 countries. The Secretary General of the meeting was Dr. H. Rosengarten, representing the University of British Columbia, and the Honorary Secretary of the Program Committee was Dr. Stephen Holliday. The Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Center provided spectacular views of the harbor and the distraction of huge cruise liners arriving or departing for Alaska from piers stretching right alongside the building. Consumers were much in evidence. The Assembly’s organizers reported that 230 attended. The World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry held its own meeting in Vancouver beforehand, on 20-21 July, and announced its legal incorporation as an independent organization. The opening concert featured vibrant performances by four young soloists, professional musicians who all received their early training in Vancouver. The city’s Youth Symphony Orchestra provided accomplished support. This gala evening took place in the old Orpheum Theatre, where a buffet reception was held before the concert. Altogether, an elegant start to the conference. Signature WFMH lectures were delivered by Prof. Julie Leibrich, a noted consumer from New Zealand (Rees Lecture); former Secretary General Eugene B. Brody, M.D. (Margaret Mead Lecture); and Dr. Lynne Bond (George Albee Lecture). When one of the two participants in the debate on “Free Market Economy and Globalization” failed to appear because of last-minute travel difficulties, Dr. Amiya Bagchi, a consultant to the Reserve Bank of India, expanded his debate presentation into an exceptional lecture on international economics. He cited many failures to improve health systems as countries adopt free-market reforms. This was one of the outstanding sessions at the conference – if the debate had been held as planned, he would have been hard to beat. Prof Tsung-yi Lin Former WFMH President Tsung-yi Lin, a Vancouver resident and professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, made a rare appearance at the WFMH Board meetings. He held office from 1975 to 1979 and organized a previous World Congress in Vancouver in 1977, which a number of this year’s participants remembered well (Isaac Mwendapole from Zambia commented on how much the city had changed). The organizers of the next World Congress, to be held in Melbourne, Australia on 23-28 February, consulted on all aspects of the meeting and left with a long list of recommendations. Prof. Graham Burrows will lead the Scientific Program Committee and Megan McQueenie of the Mental Health Foundation of Australia is the administrative director of the conference. The Canadian Mental Health Association held its 83rd Annual Meeting in conjunction with the conference. In an address at the opening session, the Association’s President, William Gaudette, spoke about inappropriate treatment in many parts of the world, and the need for change. The World Association of Health, Environment and Culture, based in Tokyo, participated in the conference. In the words of its President, Prof. Tsutomu Sakuta, the Association aims to promote health “by considering cultural and environmental issues as important as the biological variables.” The Caribbean Federation for Mental Health held a Board meeting on 24 July at the Convention Center. Beryl Walker-Watson chaired, and Board members were present from Trinidad and Jamaica. Shirley Horrocks of Wellington, New Zealand, won an expenses-paid trip to the conference as the prize for the best producer/director of a TV documentary. Her film, part of a series about disability, featured a group of artists who have schizophrenia (contact: [email protected]) At the closing ceremony the Federation’s new President, Pirkko Lahti, gave an address pointing out that mental health is a broad concept – “it is more than psychiatry” – involving work, housing, leisure and being a citizen.