STVM - Newsletter - Archive (Sep 8, 2006)

I am pleased to communicate with you in this, the inaugural newsletter of the society after making significant changes by the Society for Tropical Veterinary Medicine (STVM) leadership to be more responsive to the needs of you the membership. It is also the first opportunity to officially address the general membership since our last biennial meeting. The 8^th Biennial Conference of the STVM was held from June 26^th through July 1^st, 2005 in Hanoi, Vietnam and was a great success. This was the first STVM conference in Asia and the theme was the “Impact of Emerging Zoonotic Diseases on Animal Health”. The conference format included 12 symposia and plenary sessions and was attended by some 130 participants from 32 countries, 40% of whom came from Asian countries. Oral communications, poster sessions and workshops provided many opportunities for discussions among all participants. The majority of these presentations are collected in a special issue of the Annals of the New-York Academy of Sciences which will be released this coming September 2006.

During the final council meeting closing this conference we identified several issues of concern in the general structure and functioning of our society. As a result we organized a special council meeting in Dallas, Texas USA on March 13-15, 2006. All STVM councillors and several past presidents attended and we discussed the strengths and weaknesses of, and opportunities for STVM. We covered several topics such as the history of the society, previous conferences, structure and function of the council, legal status, financial considerations and sponsorship, membership history and statistics, student awards and participation, publication policy, and communications (website, newsletter…). We reached several general conclusions and made a number of specific recommendations in hopes of invigorating the STVM. Between now and our next biennial meeting in Merida, Mexico next year, we will highlight a number of changes and new initiatives in this newsletter.

The website and newsletter are the first of these changes to be covered. One of our past presidents, Kathy Kocan took the responsibility to have the STVM website re-designed and managed in a way that should improve our means of communication. I thank Kathy for her efforts and extend to her on behalf of the membership a hearty congratulation on a job well done. I now warmly invite you all to visit the website frequently to learn about activities of the STVM.

One of the main information tools is the Newsletter that you are now reading. I would like to sincerely thank Will Goff as Senior Editor for his contribution to the society. He will be assisted by each STVM councillor and a few other regional correspondents in acquiring items of interest to the membership. Please read Will’s introductory remarks below for more information on how this newsletter will function as part of the society’s website. I encourage you all to actively participate in this newsletter by reading it and by sending Will or a regional correspondent information that you believe would be of interest. Bob Bokma has also initiated an internet chat room that related to topics of interest to STVM members. Please note the information concerning this new communication tool below.

The survival and vibrancy of any scientific society, depends on the number of its membership and enthusiastic participation respectively. I am sure that each of you will recruit new colleagues and students and encourage them to get actively involved. I invite you to look at the registration and payment procedures in the STVM website.

During the last STVM conference in Hanoi, Merida, Mexico was voted as the site for the next meeting. The 9^th Biennial Conference will be held on June 17^th to June 22^nd, 2007. The main scientific theme will be: “Animal Biodiversity and Emerging Diseases – Prediction and Prevention”. You might have received the first announcement by email and if not, you can find it below in this newsletter and at the STVM website. The organizing committee headed by Dr. Julio Figueroa (local organizer) and Dr. Olivier Sparagano (president elect) is requesting your assistance in making this conference the best ever. We invite you to email the organizing committee and provide us with topics for specific sessions you would like to see presented during this conference. Please email potential topics to (Olivier.Sparagano@ncl.ac.uk) and let us know if you want to organize a session or a workshop during the STVM 2007 conference. A formal call for abstracts will be sent in December 2006 and you can find more information on the STVM website (at http://www.soctropvetmed.org). There will also be many social events with an amazing tour on archeological sites on the Yucatan Peninsula, dealing with the historic past of the Mayan World.

Once again, I am sure that this newsletter will be a feature of our society and that you will use it as an outlet for scientific and collegial interaction as well as a site for event information. I look forward to hearing from you and welcoming you next year in Merida.

Best regards and friendly regards,

Dr Jean-Charles Maillard

STVM President

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