|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Welcome to 2001. This year will mark the 10th anniversary since the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine was founded in May 1991. Setting up a new college is a major task. It takes a lot of effort to set one up, and a lot of effort to keep it going. Great credit must be given to the founding 10 people in Townsville who had the vision and energy to set the College up. There are many challenges facing an organisation like this. One major challenge has always been the financial one. From the beginning the College Council has set fees that are far lower than most other colleges. This was done deliberately to try to ensure that no financial barrier stood in the way of people who wanted to join. At times in meetings we dream of what we could do with lots more money, but we remain committed to low fees; and a combination of hard work and ingenuity usually get us to where we want to go despite the lack of money.
Plans for modest celebrations during the year are being made. This will probably include a plaque in the Anton Breinl Centre in Townsville where the founders met, a dinner for the founding group, and a short talk at the Annual Scientific Meeting. The ACTM has made a lot of progress in those 10 years. The membership has grown
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
substantially, we now have members in 34 countries, although most are still in Australia. One important challenge for the College is to ensure that we are of relevance to people in other countries and that we continue to attract and keep members from those other countries.
One of the ways that the College tries to improve the practice of tropical medicine is through education, and the exchange of knowledge and ideas. From the beginning there have been various types of meetings, with the Annual Scientific Meeting as the main event of the College's year. These have been remarkably successful over the years; notable for the breadth of papers presented, the friendliness of the occasion, and usually a profit, albeit small, for the College. This year's meeting will be at Yeppoon in Queensland. The College has often shared meetings with other organisations that have overlapping interests to ours. This year the meeting will be co-hosted by the Capricornia Medical Science Association, in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists, and the Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists. There will be a wide range of papers and workshops. I look forward to seeing many
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
of you at this year's meeting and encourage you to seriously consider going.
There has been criticism at times of the frequency that the Annual Scientific Meetings have been held in Queensland. The College Council has been keen to move the Meeting to other locations including other countries, but a number of difficulties have arisen in the past when meetings were held elsewhere. However, the council is determined to continue to have meetings in other locations. Next year the Annual Scientific Meeting is again scheduled to be in Queensland, at Cairns, but overseas options are being explored for the 2003 Annual Scientific Meeting.
For those with access to the internet - and we are very aware that many of our members do not have such access - the College has been actively redoing its web site (www.tropmed.org). I would encourage those with access to have a look at the web site and the College would welcome feedback about it. We want to hear about your ideas and views on any College matters. Feedback from our members is listened to, discussed at meetings and taken seriously. The College should reflect its members. To really succeed the College needs interested and active members, so we encourage you to get involved. Lastly the College wants to continue to grow, so please spread the word about the
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
