IPA Bulletin
Editor's Note 

By David G. Folks

IPA Enters A New Era With President Helen Fung-kum Chiu

The Osaka Silver Congress held 14- 18 October, 2007 was one of the most successful and the best attended IPA Congresses of all time. The quality of the venue, the scientific program and cultural offerings were unsurpassed. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Masatoshi Takeda and his organizing committee as well as Sandy Finkel and Susan Oster and the rest of the team at the Secretariat. I managed to try a bit of sake, did a little toe tapping to the Suzuki Kids Concert, and enjoyed the gracious hospitality of the Japanese people during my visit. The Board of Directors meeting was productive. Joel Sadavoy who provided outstanding leadership this past two years and Helen Fung-kum Chiu, our incoming President, worked harmoniously to pave the way for the next two years.

Professor Chiu has provided a very compelling message in this issue of the IPA Bulletin. Indeed, she has made advocacy, membership development and continued educational offerings as top priorities. A concerted effort is under way to diversify IPA with a truly multidisciplinary membership including Board of Directors and committees. Incidentally, the 2007 IPA Elections have yielded a slate of new Board Members and we are fortunate to have this talented group of "fresh" leaders who will continue to keep IPA on the cutting edge of psychogeriatrics (see page 4). What wonderful additions to our Board and let me add my congratulations.

President Chiu has noted that outstanding meetings will continue with IPA and the European Meeting in Dublin to be held April 2008 is no exception. This international meeting takes place in one of Europe’s more popular cities and will showcase two workshops focusing on psychotherapy and neuroimaging. The meeting is held in conjunction with the Royal College of Psychiatrists Old Age Faculty. President Chiu has outlined the major theme and topics in her message, and Professor Greg Swanwick and Brian Lawlor are organizing a highly stimulating meeting that will include ample opportunity for everyone to participate. The Emerald Isle awaits us!

With regard to outreach, President Sadavoy and now President Chiu have emphasized the need to build bridges to regional geriatric professional associations through affiliation and active involvement in collaborations. This concept continues to strike me as being critical to IPA's future success, and this ongoing initiative represents a terrific opportunity to network, and to have IPA serve as a catalyst for global initiatives or projects. Certainly, the World Health Organization serves as a grand model as to how to accomplish such a task. If you have ideas in this regard, please contact one of the Board of Directors (listed in this Bulletin) or contact President Chiu directly through the IPA Secretariat at ipa@ipa-online.org.

Finally, I want to add my welcome to our new Deputy Editor, Ajit Shah of the United Kingdom, who will take an active role in future production and the leadership of the IPA Bulletin. Ajit’s expertise and experiences, outlined on page 3 of this issue, nicely complement my own interests. I am looking forward to his active participation with the IPA Bulletin and the opportunity to have the IPA Bulletin soar to a new level of excellence. Respectfully yours, David G. Folks, Editor-in-Chief, contact at dgfolks@unmc.edu.

Reprinted from IPA Bulletin, Volume 25, Number 1