From WONCA News Editor interview with Mehmet Ungan
Prof Mehmet Ungan from Turkey is a WONCA Featured Doctor this month and chair of the scientific committee for the WONCA Europe region conference coming to Istanbul in October. The WONCA editor asked him about his involvement in the Istanbul conference and his hopes for the scientific program?
We are sure that we will have an outstanding program. The city itself is a known attraction. But we want the participants to remember the WONCA Istanbul Conference well in the future for its good scientific content. You know that we have a very experienced scientific committee based on international experts working on the content, next to the host organizing committee (HoC).
WONCA Europe gave TAHUD the opportunity to organise the 2015 WONCA Europe Conference which is in a really special year. WONCA Europe will celebrate its 20th birthday and TAHUD will celebrate its 25th birthday. The HoC is working on the whole event including the 20 year anniversary activities for WONCA Europe and 25th year anniversary activities for TAHUD.
I am chairing the scientific committee and at the same time I am one of the members of the HoC in which there are leaders of family medicine both from Turkey and Europe. We have many activities like a "grand session" for the presentation and general discussion of the results of the "WONCA Anniversary Project". There will be a mini slot for Introduction of "World Book of Family Medicine - European Edition". WONCA Europe Networks and special interest groups will have a grand session to present their important activities for WONCA in the past 20 years. Valuable key note speakers will give an insight into the "new primary care perspective in Europe", new developments in family medicine and many other subjects.
For those who wish to bring a fresh idea or to share a constructive thought we have also invented BRITE sessions to enable practising FP/GPs to contribute to the future of the discipline. I expect to hear very inspiring ideas which would not be aired if we were not offering BRITE sessions. We hope the voice of practicing physicians may be heard by this way.
Already, we have registered colleagues from almost 75 countries representing all WONCA world regions. We have received more than 2700 abstracts, and expect many more as we are not at the deadline yet.
Since the beginning of civilization, Istanbul has always been shining and is still there with all its charm to host family physicians/general practitioners, primary care team members and those feeling themselves as belonging to our “family”. There is a saying, “the light is coming from the east”. We, together with all of your contributions, will try to make the light of the new primary care science shine here in the very eastern border of the European continent, where you can easily see Asia Minor across the Bosphorus sea. We want to celebrate the birthdays of WONCA Europe and TAHUD with all of you, so, hurry up and register.
