Update on WPA Scientific Meetings

It has been an uncertain, unpredictable and turbulent time during the past two years, due to the COVID‐19 pandemic ¹ . This time has brought with it many challenges but has also provided the WPA with many opportunities. We have strived together and advanced in terms of holding high‐quality WPA meetings. We are proud of these accomplishments, and the WPA could have not achieved them without the strong commitment of the organizers, including Member Societies and Scientific Sections ² . Also, the contribution of the Executive Committee in quickly reviewing and approving the proposed meetings, the work of the Standing Committee for Scientific Meetings, and the continuing support of the WPA Secretariat have to be acknowledged.

For this time of limited in‐person gathering, the WPA has built a state‐of‐the‐art platform designed to make the virtual experience easy, educational, convenient, interactive and memorable. The virtual format meeting, implemented this way, is an excellent way to allow WPA Member Societies to network, continue to build bonds with each other, and allow all to participate within their own safety. Virtual meetings have allowed us to create new opportunities and make the events even more accessible to a worldwide audience.

The WPA has continued to closely monitor the global risk assessment regarding the pandemic and its impact on international travel to hold face‐to‐face meetings. It appears that we start seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, since certain travel restrictions have been gradually lifted around the world. The Association is having now again face‐to‐face meetings, starting from the World Congress of Psychiatry in Bangkok, Thailand, held from August 3 to 6, 2022. We hope that the future WPA meetings will again promote the unique bonds that hold our Member Societies together and get all these Societies re‐energized and re‐engaged during the coming years. For sure, the WPA will adjust to and embrace whatever the future normalcy/normality we will be facing during the post‐pandemic era.

At the same time, the WPA aims to promote an increasing understanding of public mental health among professionals and the public, including collaboration with patient and family organizations3, 4. The scientific meetings are geared up to align with the WPA Action Plan 2020‐2023 and to address its priorities5, 6, 7, 8.

The programme of WPA meetings has been in full swing. We have continued to do our utmost to promote the mission of the Association and to contribute to its achievements and success, working closely with the Executive Committee and the Secretariat to oversee and co‐ordinate all official meetings and manage applications for co‐sponsored meetings, and maintaining responsibility for the development of proposals to host the World Congresses of Psychiatry, and assist in all aspects of their organization9, 10.

The following meetings are confirmed or proposed for the near future: the Thematic Congress “Treatment and Management of Mental Disorders in a Post‐Pandemic Era”, Tbilisi, Georgia, October 14‐16, 2022; the Intersectional Thematic Congress “New Horizons in Psychiatric Practice: Creative Ideas and Innovative Interventions”, Malta, November 10‐12, 2022; the Regional Congress “African Psychiatry in the 21st Century: Achievements and Future Perspectives”, Hammamet, Tunisia, December 8‐10, 2022; the Thematic Congress “Mental Health in a New Era”, Karachi, Pakistan, March 3‐5, 2023; the Regional Congress “Building Awareness – Bridging Treatment Gap”, organized by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Psychiatric Federation, Kolkata, India, April 14‐16, 2023; and the World Congress of Psychiatry, Vienna, Austria, September 28‐October 1, 2023.

There are more WPA meetings and co‐sponsored meetings in the pipeline and we will update the list regularly.

In light of the past two years, the WPA will not succumb to the “pandemic fatigue” and will not detour its path. Now is time for the Association to press on with its mission and vision. We are confident that, by embracing these opportunities, taking global action and working closely together with international collaborations, we will overcome all the challenges. Together we shall move forward and continue to define the future in psychiatry.