ISTM News

Message from ISTM President Charles Ericcson

In keeping with the suggestion of the Long Range Planning Committee, I have prepared preliminary guidelines for an initiative to have conferences during the interim years that CISTM (Conference of the ISTM) does not have a meeting. Please note that I have tried to position these as requiring minimum input from ISTM resources other than our advertising and educational efforts. With careful planning these meetings might prove to be a mechanism to defray the costs for the ISTM interim year Executive Board meetings. I think it is imperative for ISTM to try to have meetings and foster education in parts of the world that heretofore have been underserved by ISTM. I think the membership might also enjoy meetings that better stress issues of some of less developed touristic destinations. This plan, however, also recognizes that ISTM must proceed carefully and not overextend our finances at this time in our growth.

I have already negotiated—with the approval of Louis Loutan, our president-elect—to have an interim Executive Board meeting held in 2002 in conjunction with the biennial meeting of the Asia Pacific Travel Health Society in Shanghai, China. The Chinese sponsors of this meeting have graciously agreed to cover the travel and meeting expenses of our Executive Board and Committee chairs in return for our teaching efforts.

At issue is whether we might also call this planned meeting the first such collaborative meeting with ISTM under the guidelines set out in the attached draft.

The Executive Board will consider this proposal at its next meeting in Innsbruck. Meanwhile I would appreciate critique from the membership with suggested changes of this draft, so that what is considered in Innsbruck can be at its most refined state. Please direct your comments via e-mail to the ISTM secretariat Brenda Bagwell, at istm@istm.org. Here is an overview of the draft:

Conferences in Collaboration with the International Society of Travel Medicine

Objectives

To have a scientific conference in collaboration with responsible organizers biennially in years that CISTM currently does not meet and, ideally, in regions of the world currently not as actively served by CISTM.

To have an International Society of Travel Medicine Executive Board meeting financed at least in part by the conference.

Requirements in Overview

For ISTM to collaborate with an organizer and commit its name and teaching expertise to the success of the conference the following requirements should be met:

• The scientific focus of the conference would ideally concentrate on the region in which the conference is held.
• The interim year Executive Board meeting would be financed, at least in part, by the meeting.
• Executive Board members would commit their expertise to teaching in the regional conference.
• There would be no up-front, direct ISTM fiscal commitment for the conference.
• While ISTM would commit to advertising and promoting the conference, organizational input by ISTM would be kept to a minimum.
• The ISTM Executive Board would approve the conference location and initial plans of the organizing committee.
• An appointee of ISTM would sit on and participate in the planning activities of the organizing and scientific committees.