1999 WFMH World Congress

Santiago, Chile, 5-10 September 1999

Benjamin Vicente recalls that fifteen years ago, when he first began to discuss holding a Hispanic-oriented World Congress in his native Chile, colleagues said it would be impossible. Much has changed since then. The Congress in September brought to Santiago not only Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking members of the Federation from Latin America, but many Spanish speakers from North America and Europe. Other people at the conference who attended sessions given in English or with simultaneous translation came away with a new appreciation of Hispanic culture and interests.

Tracks covered many general issues in mental health, but considerable attention was given to Latin America and to conditions in Chile itself. Participants learned of issues arising from Chile’s unusual and varied geography, its relative isolation in Latin America, and its conflicted recent political history. Illustrations of the issues were close at hand. In clear weather the huge snow-capped peaks of the Andean cordillera could be seen, a natural boundary which shapes and isolates the country. A majority of the country’s population lives in the vicinity of Santiago, with problems of urban sprawl and areas of poverty. On the second day of the Congress the country’s newly created Reconciliation Commission met in the same building, a sharp reminder to participants of the tragic events which divide the country and the immediate relevance to Chile of certain sections of the program.

The University of Concepcion and the Chilean Society for Mental Health played central roles in arranging the program. From the University, located 50 km away from the capital, Professor Benjamin Vicente headed the national organizing committee with the able support of Professor Pedro Rioseco as treasurer. Eduardo Medina, Director of the Society for Mental Health, was vice president of the committee. The Society, sixteen years old, represents more than 200 multidisciplinary professionals.

Benedetto saraceno, M.D., Director of the Mental Health Department
in the World Health Organization, addressed the Congress in Spanish.
Photo Credit: Ivan Rodriguez Pictures.

WHO Representation

The meeting, which focused on issues of poverty and quality of life, was co-sponsored by the World Health Organization and received strong support from WHO’s Pan American Health Organization. WHO sent a group of senior, Spanish-speaking representatives – Benedetto Saraceno, head of the Mental Health Department of WHO, David Brandling-Bennett, Deputy Director of PAHO, and Itzhak Levav, Mental Health Advisor at PAHO – who all took an active part in the program.

Seven hundred people from forty-five countries attended the Congress. The daily programs during the five-day meeting ran from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm in a packed succession of symposia, lectures and workshops arranged under sixteen topics.

Some of the themes of the meeting were laid out at the opening session. Professor Vicente spoke about the Asian economic crisis and its sharp impact on Chile’s economy and society. The Rector of the University of Concepcion, Sergio Lavanchy, linked the university’s motto – “for the freedom of the spirit” – to mental health, and also addressed current concerns about violence in society.

Benedetto Saraceno, bringing greetings from the Director General of WHO, Dr. Gro Harlan Brundtland, referred to her planned initiatives on suicide prevention, depression, and the care of refugees. He also congratulated WFMH on its role as an active and independent NGO with a special mission open to the social aspects of mental health.

Raul Riquelme, President of the Chilean Society for Mental Health, spoke about the complex, long-term difficulties involved in the care of the chronically mentally ill, and also discussed the problems arising from working conditions in modern society (especially those resulting from an economic system exposed to the pressures of global competition). Chile’s Minister of Health made very frank comments about the country’s record of human rights abuses. He then discussed the ethical commitment needed to reduce the marginality of the mentally ill, and described the current state of national mental health services.

At a reception the evening before the Congress began,
the Ballet Folclorico of the University of Conception
gave a display of regional dances.
Photo Credit: Ivan Rodriguez Pictures.

Keynote Addresses

The opening session was followed by two keynote lectures. David Brandling-Bennett, Deputy Director of PAHO, addressed issues of poverty in South and North America and the enormous health implications of disparities in wealth. WFMH President Marten deVries spoke about the growth of mental illnesses in low-income countries, the need for a global approach to the crisis, and the importance of lobbying for parity in the approach to mental and physical health problems in public health policies. Later in the day Benedetto Saraceno gave a third keynote speech about the basic ideas guiding the new WHO Department of Mental Health which he heads. Among the topics he covered was the importance of involving users in the evaluation of care.

As is customary, the Congress program included three special plenary lectures named after Mary Hemmingway Rees, Margaret Mead and George Albee. The Rees lecture this year was given by the Rev. Bonganjolo Goba of South Africa, who spoke about reconciliation and spirituality in terms of South Africa’s recent experience with its Truth and Reconciliation Commission. By coincidence, his lecture took place on the day Chile’s Reconciliation Commission held its opening session in the conference center.

The Albee lecture was given by the immediate past president of the American Psychiatric Association, Rodrigo Munoz, who spoke about “The way to a world free of depression.” This lecture was a featured part of the Congress track on prevention. The Mead lecture was delivered by Larissa Lomnitz, a Mexican anthropologist who spoke warmly about the influence of Margaret Mead’s work on her own choice of career path before presenting research into the dynamics of three-generational families in Mexico.

Margaret Mead was President of the Federation in 1956-57. Professor Tsung-yi Lin of Canada (President in 1975-79, and now Honorary President), has made a special donation to ensure the continuance of the Mead lecture series at the next World Congress in Vancouver.

The main hall at the Diego Portales Conference Center during the opening session.
Photo Credit: Ivan Rodriguez Pictures.

Retirement of Secretary General Brody

After serving 16 years as Secretary General of WFMH, following two years as President (1981-83), Eugene B. Brody retired at the Congress in Santiago. He had intended to be there to make opening and closing speeches at the meeting, but following an accident which caused a serious shoulder injury he had surgery on 16 August and was unable to travel.

Instead, Benjamin Vicente and Marten deVries persuaded him to make a video of his closing address, which arrived by express delivery on the last day of the meeting. It was projected on a large screen as the final major speech of the Congress, and was very warmly received by the audience.