Contents
President’s Message
3
Vice-President's Message
4
IPSF Executive 2004-2005
5
Pharmacy Education
8
Professional Development
10
Public Health
12
Student Exchange Programme
14
Publications
16
Neema Village Concept Project
18
Regional Offices and Allied Regional Organisations
20
50th IPSF World Congress
22
IPSF Promotion
24
Acknowledgements
25
2
President's Message
The 50th IPSF World Congress in Halifax, Canada marked a special time not only for reflection on the significant achievements of IPSF in its 55 year history, but also excited anticipation of future direction of the Federation. IPSF represents 350,000 pharmaceutical students and recent graduates from 61 countries. Through active participation and generation of new opportunities, the executive have advocated the involvement of pharmacy and pharmacy students at every level and the inclusion of issues relating to the profession to feature on every agenda. The executive has strived to build greater strength within the Federation in terms of structure, activities, communication, development of new opportunities, and greater activity and awareness of the work of the Federation amongst members and partner organisations. 2004-2005 has seen the foundations of IPSF strengthen through strategic development, securing continued support from the European Union (EU) and International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), and building on partnerships with the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), FIP, Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association (CPA), and Management Sciences for Health (MSH) amongst others. 2004-2005 was marked with numerous developments and achievements. The MSH/IPSF HIV/AIDS Awareness Award was created. The Tuberculosis Fact Card Project in India and the first web forum for pharmacists and pharmacy students was launched with CPA this year. A comprehensive resource on patient counselling was developed and published together with the FIP Information Section. Moving On II, the largest international study ever undertaken examining the quality of pharmacy education and the student learning experience was completed. IPSF WHO internships were finalised for the first time, creating significant opportunities for pharmacy students. IPSF was also invited by UNESCO to report on the role of higher education in sustainable development. A new IPSF website and innovative online members' area was launched. The 2005 51st IPSF World Congress is greatly anticipated with an extensive scientific and educational programme. These are some of the highlights from the past year, the 50th IPSF executive are proud to present the 2004-2005 annual report and trust that you will enjoy reading this tribute to the work and dedication of a united front of pharmacy students and young pharmacists worldwide. Tana Wuliji President 2004-2005
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Vice-President's Message
Each year IPSF faces new challenges and new strategic objectives and this year has been no different. The President has highlighted some of the major accomplishments of the Federation this year and many of these are due in no small part to the hard work of Tana and her job as the "face" of IPSF to so many organisations and individuals. I believe that the role of the Vice President and Secretary General is rooted in helping to maintain internal communication in the organisation. The Executive have developed new, regular communication with members through the new fortnightly e-newsletter and this has allowed more rapid dissemination of vital information on the activities of the executive committee. Close communication within the executive through various means has allowed the Federation to develop work on the book appeal, the Development Fund and the IPSF website in a way that would not have been possible in the limited time spent in face to face meetings. In the future, IPSF will be increasingly well placed to contribute to international dialogue on public health, pharmaceutical education, mobility and higher education but this can only be achieved in conjunction with member organisations and allied regional organisations. Our Asia Pacific Regional office has taken important strides forward this year to develop a decentralised approach and the Executive have supported this and I hope that they can prove to be a model for the future. Much has been achieved this year by excellent communication - there is much more for IPSF and our members to achieve in the future.
Scott Dalgliesh Vice-President and Secretary General 2003-2005
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IPSF Executive 2004-2005
Tana Wuliji, New Zealand President, Permanent Officer Tana attended her first IPSF congress in Budapest 2002 and has been active in IPSF since as the Contact Person, Student Exchange Officer and member of the Moving On I research group. In 2003 Tana was the founding President of the New Zealand Association of Pharmacists and Students. She graduated from the Pharmacy School of the University of Otago in 2002 and worked a Hospital Clinical Pharmacist before moving to The Netherlands from New Zealand to concentrate on her position full time in January 2005. Scott Dalgliesh, United Kingdom Vice-President and Secretary General Scott served a second term as Secretary General as well as taking the portfolio of VicePresident in his efficient and experienced stride. Scott works as a community pharmacist in Edinburgh, Scotland and graduated from Strathclyde University in Glasgow. Prior to his appointment to the executive in 2003, Scott had served on the Constitutional Working party, attended 5 congresses, and is a past executive member of the British Pharmaceutical Students' Association. Jelte Meulenaar, The Netherlands Treasurer Following a successful year as the IPSF Treasurer on the 2003-2004 executive and holding true to the reputation of quality Dutch money management, Jelte served a second year as the Treasurer. Jelte is currently a 6th year pharmacy student at the University of Groningen. Jelte has extensive experience in finances as the Treasurer for his local association from 2002-2003, a member of the budgeting committee for his faculty, and faculty auditing committee for the past two years. Lesley Zwicker, Canada Chairperson of Pharmacy Education Lesley joined her first IPSF Congress in Budapest in 2002 when CAPSI Canada presented their bid to host the 50th IPSF Anniversary Congress. Lesley graduated in 2003 from the College of Pharmacy, Dalhousie University and now works as a community pharmacist in Nova Scotia. Prior to her appointment to Chairperson of Pharmacy Education, Lesley was a member of the Reception Committee hosting the 50th Congress in Halifax, Canada and a member of the CAPSI executive for two years. Lesley has lead the Moving On II Research Group with enthusiasm and dedication, launching one of the largest international studies on quality in pharmacy education to date.
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IPSF Executive 2004-2005
Yen Nguyen, United States of America Chairperson of Professional Development Yen just graduated from her final year of pharmacy school at the University of Arizona. Yen attended her first IPSF congress in 2002, and has been actively involved in IPSF as the Student Exchange Officer for the national pharmacy students association APhAASP. Over the year Yen has been responsible for developing new feedback forms for the Pharmacy Profession Awareness Campaign and the Patient Counselling Event and workshops at the IPSF and FIP Congresses.
Mohanad Nader Abbas Fors, Egypt Chairperson of Publications Mohanad plunged into his first IPSF experience at the same congress as his election to the executive. Professional design skills and experience combined with hard work and dedication has proved successful in his efforts to bring IPSF publications to a new level and lead the development of the new IPSF website, online members' area as well as publications and design. Mohanad is entering his 5th and final year of pharmacy studies in Alexandria. He was the Chairperson of Publications in his local association ASPSA and responsible for heading his faculty's application to join IPSF.
Myriah Lesko, Canada Chairperson of Public Health, Permanent Officer Myriah graduated from the pharmacy school of the University of Manitoba in 2003 and has worked as a community pharmacist before taking a year off to work full time for IPSF. Myriah held various positions on the local association student council in her undergraduate years as well as serving as the Student Exchange Officer and Contact Person for the national pharmacy students association CAPSI. Myriah recently began her new role as a projects officer for the International Pharmaceutical Federation. Myriah has encouraged greater involvement of members in public health campaigns as well as facilitating better communication and membership promotion in her role as the Permanent Officer.
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IPSF Executive 2004-2005
Shameka Jackson, Jamaica Chairperson of Public Relations Prior to Shami’s election to the position of Chairperson of Public Relations, Shami was the Chair of the IPSF Pan American Regional Office. Shami recently completed her pharmacy studies at the University of Technology and will graduate in November 2005. Shami has attended three IPSF Pan American Symposiums as well as contributing actively as a leading member of the Reception Committee for the 4th Pan American Regional Symposium (PARS) held in Jamaica this year. Shami was also the Secretary on the executive of the local association, UTAPS as well as being a Deputy Faculty Representative.
Georgina Gal, Hungary Chairperson of Student Exchange Gina deferred a year of study to spend six months in the Netherlands supporting the work of the federation upon being elected the Chairperson of Student Exchange. Gina is a 4th year pharmacy student at Semmelweis University in Budapest. She attended her first IPSF congress in 2002 as a member of the Reception Committee, Gina has since been actively involved since 2002 in the Student Exchange Committee and the national pharmacy students association HUPSA as the Secretary General. Much of the success and smooth transition to the first year of the use of the online system for the Student Exchange Programme is due to team efforts of Gina, the Student Exchange Committee and especially the Student Exchange Officers.
Kerstin Neumann, Germany Chairperson of the 51st Congress Reception Committee After graduating from pharmacy school in 2003, Kerstin began her PhD Studies at the University of Bonn. Kerstin has attended two IPSF congresses since 2002, worked as the EPSA Liaison on the national pharmacy students association BPhD for 2002-2003. Kerstin worked closely with the IPSF CP in her time on BPhD executive and organised many events. After BPhD's successful bid to host this years 51st IPSF Congress, Kerstin lead a very organised and efficient Reception Committee in addition to being an active coopted member of the executive this year.
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Pharmacy Education
IPSF had the opportunity to engage in an original research project over the past year, the Moving On II project. The Moving On II Research is the largest study done to ascertain pharmacy students' academic experiences and professional aspirations around the globe. The results of this project are currently being analysed and look to reveal new information about the quality of pharmacy education and the student learning experience. Data was collected from over 1700 pharmacy students from Australia, Portugal, Nepal, Switzerland, Jamaica, Singapore, The Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Canada. Upon completion, the project will be presented at both upcoming IPSF and FIP annual congresses and the results of the project will be prepared for publication. IPSF is currently engaged in discussions with potential stakeholders for the next project, Moving On III.
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Pharmacy Education
IPSF is pleased to be involved in the FIP 65th annual congress programme this year. IPSF and FIP collaborated on the annual Students' Day programme presenting four speakers on the theme of access and equity. The Academic Section of FIP and IPSF have also planned a joint symposium on educating pharmacists to empower patients. IPSF looks forward to further collaboration of plenary sessions at the next FIP annual congress. IPSF is pleased to have three of the joint sessions accredited for the first time this year by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. IPSF participated in the 9th UNESCO NGO Consultation on Higher Education in April 2005 held in Paris. IPSF submitted a statement on the role of higher education for sustainable development identifying key areas for improvement, collaboration, and barriers. The Federation was invited to report on a workshop on sustainable development and contribute to the final report of the consultation. Following on from the UNESCO NGO consultation, IPSF has taken steps to investigate a proposal for the next Moving On project. This new research would be to study the migratory intentions, push and pull factors, and reasons for entering pharmacy, of final year pharmacy students worldwide. It is hoped that this research will serve as a template study that can be implemented across other disciplines to get a global picture of core sustainability and underlying 'brain drain' issues. The annual Phuture supplement addressing topics in pharmacy education carried the theme of concordance this year. IPSF was pleased to have contributions from experts in the field and students to provide background and practical information on adopting this practice concept. IPSF was fortunate to have the participation of four speakers at this year's Education Forum at the annual IPSF congress in Bonn, Germany. The theme of this year's session is multidisciplinary working and learning. Aside from the plenary session, speakers also organised workshops to help student's further explore issues around this theme. In May 2005, IPSF together with IFMSA decided in Geneva, Switzerland to launch a new award at the 2006 Global Forum on Health Research for young health researchers. This initiative has gained the interest and support of the Council on Health Research for Development.
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Professional Development
The Pharmacy Profession Awareness Campaign gathered new momentum this year with new countries participating (Egypt, Canada, Nepal, and the USA) joining veteran countries (Australia, Singapore, and Taiwan) in taking on new challenges to promote the pharmacy profession and building on established ideas. The International IPSF Patient Counselling Event is planned be one of the most extensive and will take place at the 51st IPSF World Congress in Bonn, Germany this year. A patient counselling skills workshop will be run before the event as well as a feedback workshop after the event to ensure that participants and observers get the most out of the opportunity to learn from experts in the field and improve their own skills. Patient Counselling Events were conducted worldwide by member associations such as Australia, United Kingdom, Finland, Portugal, Czech Republic and Ghana.
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Professional Development
Concordance is a concept that has been around for some ten years but is not widely understood nor practiced amongst healthcare professionals. Pharmacists face the challenge of not only integrating pharmaceutical care services into practice, but also to reflect on their own attitudes towards patients and communication skills in order to develop effective two way communication. Since 2003, the FIP Information Section and IPSF have worked to develop a new publication incorporating a concordant approach on patient counselling. Counselling, Concordance, and Communication: Innovative Education for Pharmacists will be launched at the 51st IPSF Annual Congress in Bonn, Germany, and the 65th International Congress in Cairo, Egypt this year A joint programme on patient counselling with the Information Section of FIP is also planned for the 65th FIP Congress. The accredited session will focus on the importance of communication with patients, the skills and techniques needed for concordance-based communication, improving adherence to therapy with patient-oriented communication, and recognising the barriers in concordance-based communication. The use of role-play will also demonstrate how to use these ideas in practice. IPSF, together with partners IFMSA, EPSA and EMSA are organising the first World Medicine and Pharmacy Students' Symposium (World MaPS) which will be held from the 7th - 12th November this year in Malta. Hosted by the Maltese Medical and Pharmacy students associations, this event will bring together 400 pharmacy, medicine, nursing and allied health students from around the world to concentrate on building ties and advocating multidisciplinary cooperation in health. Developments are underway to bring new guidelines and management into the running of the book appeal programme. Through cooperation with the FIP Pharmabridge project and use of the Pharmabridge database, the book appeal programme will be re-launched this year to be more efficient and effective.
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Public Health
Pharmacy students worldwide were eager to become involved in multitudes of activities, and an exceptional international effort has put towards the success of all IPSF public health campaigns. The beginning of the 2004-2005 IPSF term drew focus to HIV/AIDS in preparation for World AIDS Day, December 1st. IPSF and MSH were pleased to announce a new HIV/AIDS Awareness Award in October 2004. This award was established to recognise an IPSF member's innovative and globally applicable HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign, with the selected recipient given the opportunity to attend the MSH conference on Strategies for Enhancing Access to medicines in Accra, Ghana, in June 2005. Ms Georgiana Cornea of FASFR, Romania was selected for the award from the six outstanding applications received. HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaigns were run in many countries to mark World AIDS Day, including Singapore, Indonesia, Hungary, Egypt, Portugal, France, Turkey, Ghana, and the United States of America. This year also marked the first occasion that IPSF created an intern placement at the World Health Organization. This was an extremely popular initiative, with over 25 individuals from all over the world applying for the internship place at the WHO Stop TB Partnership Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland. IPSF and the WHO Stop TB Partnership are very proud to report that Ms. Maureen Forrestel from the United States was chosen as the first IPSF-WHO Stop TB Intern. A second WHO intern opportunity was announced from the Essential Medicines Department in June with Antra Zeltina of Latvia chosen from nine applications. IPSF is working to finalise several other internship opportunities for pharmacy students in WHO.
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Public Health
In January 2005, IPSF was accepted as one of the nine international organisations into the WHO NGO-Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Health Promotion, a group working closely with the Health Promotion Department of WHO, including organisations such as the International Aids Society, IFMSA, and International Council of Nurses. For the first time, IPSF organised a briefing at the World Health Assembly in May as a partner in the Advisory Group on Health Promotion on the theme of NGO and health promotion, from policy to action. The briefing was well attended by over 80 delegates from ministries of health, professional organisations, WHO, and other non-governmental organisations. IPSF was also invited to contribute to the programme and discussions for the WHO Bangkok conference on Health Promotion in August this year. IPSF marked World TB Day, March 24th, with many significant collaborative activities. IPSF, Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association and the Indian Pharmaceutical Association launched the TB Fact Card project in India. The TB Fact Card Project is a pilot involving 50 community pharmacies in Mumbai, India taking an active role in the prevention and treatment of TB through patient education and counselling. This project has the potential to vastly impact the lives of many and improve adherence to TB treatment. IPSF and CPA together with the WHO Stop TB Secretariat launched the first TB web forum for pharmacists and pharmacy students on May 17th in Geneva. The web forum www.pharmacistsfighttb.org brings together the latest information about TB, TB projects and initiatives run by pharmacists and pharmacy students worldwide. This year's theme for World Health Day Healthy Mothers and Children; Make Every Mother and Child Count, was widely popular amongst IPSF Member Countries. World Health Day campaigns focused on how the pharmacist can take a proactive role in improving the health and wellbeing of mothers and children. Campaigns involving clinics set up for mothers and children, vaccination and poison prevention campaigns, as well as informative sessions were carried out countries including Nepal, Indonesia, and Egypt. May 31st was World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), one of the most widely recognised campaign of the Federation. Pharmacy students around the globe took to heart the global theme of WNTD Health Professionals Against Tobacco, and worked towards a tobacco free society by starting with themselves and their colleagues in their local and national associations. Excellent campaigns were carried out in Finland, Portugal, Armenia, Egypt, Singapore, Romania amongst many others. We are encouraging all IPSF members to adopt this theme for all of their tobacco awareness activities throughout the year. Work has begun to launch a new official IPSF campaign on Healthy Living and Diabetes, this new proposal will be discussed at the 51st IPSF Congress. With plans for interactive and dynamic public health workshop sessions at the IPSF Congress and World MaPS, recognition for the ability of students to impact upon the health of their communities is growing. IPSF members together with the executive have put forth a remarkable effort this year in their ambition to become influential contributors to the improvement of health in their communities. We are extremely proud of our members and anticipate that the dedication and hard work demonstrated this year will continue into the future.
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Student Exchange Programme
The year 2004-2005 was a year of both consistency and change in the Student Exchange Programme. The role and the aim of the Student Exchange Programme is consistent with previous years; it creates opportunities for pharmacy students to gain international professional experiences in academic, administrative, community, hospital and industrial pharmacy in order to contribute to the improvement of the education of future health professionals. However, the tools that the Student Exchange Programme operates with have improved and therefore changed this year.
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Student Exchange Programme
The new online Student Exchange Database has been launched creating an easy-to-use platform for students, Student Exchange Officers and the Chairperson of Student Exchange where applications can be submitted and viewed. As the aim of the Student Exchange Programme is to allow pharmacy students to experience the profession in other countries, including distant ones, it is a great advantage that applications reach the Student Exchange Officers within seconds regardless of which part of the world they are in. The Student Exchange Database also makes the Programme more reliable as no applications are lost. Naturally it was a challenge for everyone involved to understand and learn how the Database works, but with a shared effort it was possible to overcome any difficulties. This year 47 IPSF member associations participated in the Student Exchange Programme including associations from Armenia, Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, Kosovo UNMIK, Latvia, Mozambique, and Nepal that have joined the Programme for the first time this year. Additionally to the host sites provided by the participating associations, there are host sites in Denmark and the IPSF headquarters in The Hague. With the Student Exchange Database, students can submit their applications throughout the year. As of June 2005, more than 580 students submitted their applications and 81% of them had been placed. Both the number of applicants and the number of placed students are expected to increase until the end of the year. The IPSF Student Exchange Programme Grant aims to facilitate students to join in the Programme by helping to remove financial barriers. This year four students from Central-Eastern Europe and Jamaica have been awarded with the Grant. Cooperation has always been essential in the Student Exchange Programme, but this has never been as true as this year. The success of the Student Exchange Database and the whole Programme a tribute to the enthusiastic and hard-working Student Exchange Officers of the participating associations and the helpful Student Exchange Committee.
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Publications
2004-2005 saw a 40% increase in the number of website hits, the development of new posters, IPSF website, online members' areas, new logos, two issues of the IPSF News Bulletins and much more. The main goal was to add a professional, dynamic, and innovative edge to IPSF materials, publications and the website to facilitate the communication and presentation of the ideas, aims, and projects of the Federation.
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Publications
A new website was especially created to increase interest amongst members and non-members in IPSF and to help new IPSF users to get involved with IPSF activities. The website also include a password protected members' area to enable the Contact Persons from each association to get the latest information in the easiest way and to provide the Federation with up to date details of their contacts, projects, activities and plans. IPSF 2 Go is another recent exciting development, this allows the IPSF website to be accessed from mobile phones and thereby expanding avenues through which to access information about IPSF, further developments are anticipated including the ability to receive text message updates about IPSF on mobile phones. This year the News Bulletins issues have for the 1st time through the addition of Arabic, been translated into the four IPSF official languages for the News and Views section. The News Bulletins this year were full of new ideas such as the inclusion of pull away posters inside to promote to certain events like the IPSF congress and others. The News Bulletin is also available online for download at www.ipsf.org. The mission to increase the activity of current IPSF members and the involvement of potentially new members was one of the driving forces for IPSF this year the development of a new publication entitled How To Get Involved in IPSF. This project aims to explain to pharmacy students and recent graduates from around the world, how to participate in IPSF activities. A new poster giving information about IPSF projects and activities in addition to a booklet will be launched at the 51st IPSF Congress this year. These resources are also available online. IPSF Publications worked this year within all portfolios such as Student Exchange, Public Health, Public Relations, through developing new logos, booklets, covers, and materials. Some of the highlights include the MSH/IPSF HIV/AIDS Awareness Award poster, new Student Exchange Programme Logo, and the design of new booklet covers for public relations publications. This year was a successful year for all areas of IPSF including Publications which achieved most of its aims and provided members and users with the latest accurate and complete information through various materials, the new website and electronic newsletters.
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Neema Village Concept Project
In 1993, the Neema Project began as no more than a dream, an idea conceived in a conversation between two pharmacy students. Eight years later, that dream became reality when the Neema Dispensary in Kiromo Tanzania opened its doors for the first time. While the building, stocking and staffing of a dispensary were the initial goals of the project, ultimately the aim was that this should be the focal point of a much broader endeavour to improve general health conditions and to increase the level of hygiene and public health education among the villagers. On September 25th 2004, the Neema Dispensary was official handed over to the villagers of Kiromo, Buma, and Mataya with the symbolic passing of a large wooden key from Diane Gal, Chairperson of the Neema Co-ordinating Group, to Dr Asia Nyanyam, Clinical Officer of the Dispensary. This marked the transition from a joint international and local project to the full integration of the Dispensary into the Tanzanian government health system.
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Neema Village Concept Project
Since Neema officially opened its doors on May 27 2001, 13 rotations and 47 international participants have come to Tanzania from around the globe to work on this IPSF Village Concept Project (VCP). As with all VCPs, the Neema Project was a student-run, interdisciplinary project, originating from the expressed needs of the villagers and implemented in co-operation with those villages. Though mainly from pharmacy backgrounds, the participants also included representatives from medicines, nutrition, agriculture and the social sciences. Together these students worked towards the common goal of achieving a sustainable improvement in the health conditions and living standards of the population. The achievements over the past four years include: - The establishment of a dispensary where patients can receive medical care, appropriate medication and - advice on the correct administration of this medicine. - The creation of a mother and child centre within the Dispensary. Here, each month, mothers bring their --children to be weighed and measured, and to receive vaccinations, vitamins and counselling on infant nutr--ition. - The provision of solar panels at the dispensary, bringing electricity to the village for the first time. This has - enhanced the services available from the dispensary. - The use of microscopes has enabled, for example, improvements in diagnosis of malaria. - The conduct of a number of health information campaigns in Kiswahili on malaria, nutrition, hygiene, - HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, filariasis, bilharzias, measles and vaccination, diarrhoea, - fungal infections, scabies, asthma and hypertension. - The construction of a conference centre for use by villagers. - The development of after-school study groups where the international participants helped local schoolchild --ren with their homework, and in particular, their English lessons. At present, the dispensary employs a clinical officer, a nurse, a nurse assistant, a technical laboratory assistant (whose training was funded by the project) and a security guard. The local government now pays the salaries of the clinical officer and nurse and it is hoped that the district government will also assume the responsibility for payment of the other salaries in the near future. Following the handover of the dispensary, international participation on the site came to an end. Thereafter it was intended that IPSF would monitor the progress of the project in the following 12 months. The Neema project now completely falls under the responsibility of the local organising committee. The Neema Project has already accomplished significant progress and all those who helped realise the Neema dream can feel justifiable pride in the achievements to date. Though all goals set for the project have not been achieved, it is possible that with determination and strong leadership the local co-ordinating group may overcome the current difficulties and independently attain these goals in the future.
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Regional Offices and Allied Regional Organisations
The IPSF Asia Pacific (APRO) and Pan American (PARO) Regional Offices were formed in 2001. Over the past four years the Regional Offices of IPSF have strived to reach out to members and activate enthusiasm and participation of pharmacy students in campaigns and projects and bring them closer together through regional events. IPSF collaborates with partner regional organisations, the African Pharmaceutical Students' Federation and the European Pharmaceutical Students' Association.
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Regional Offices and Allied Regional Organisations
The Asia Pacific Regional Office has made great progress over the last year through the first submission of a budget to carry plans to facilitate communication and publicise the activities of members in printed circulars and an annual report. The 4th Asia Pacific Scientific Symposium (APPS) will be held this year from the 21st - 27th of August in Tokyo, Japan. This event has gained much interest and was booked out in March with over 200 pharmacy students and graduates across the Asia Pacific and beyond registered. The theme for the APPS is Public Health with the programme focusing on infectious and life-style related diseases. Workshops, leadership programmes, presentations, panellist discussions, educational visits with input from pharmacy students, ministry of health, pharmacists, and experts are planned. Elections for the new APRO committee will also take place at this conference. APRO ran a students' day programme at the Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Associations conference held in Bangkok, Thailand, November 2004. The FAPA board decided to open a students section co-chaired by APRO to organise future student programmes at FAPA events and work towards common goals in pharmacy education and practice. The 4th Pan American Regional Symposium (PARS IV) was held in Kingston, Jamaica from the 19th - 23rd of May 2005. The theme of the symposium was Counselling our way to healthier lifestyles and urged participants to recognise the importance of communicating with patients to develop greater understanding of the appropriate management of medicines and health. The new PARO logo, future directives, regional restructure and election of new officers were the focal points of discussion in the meetings. The PARS delegates spent time enjoying the beauty of Jamaica in Ocho Rios climbing a waterfall and singing reggae tunes. Several countries are interested to host the next PARS and plans are in place to develop the PARO section of the IPSF website. IPSF membership promotion and better communication with Pan American pharmacy students and graduates will be the goal for PARO in the upcoming year. IPSF joined students for the 3rd African Pharmaceutical Students' Federation Congress in Cairo, Egypt in September 2004. Hopes grow to further expand on the development of this regional organisation to strengthen communication and support regionally between African pharmacy students and graduates as well as internationally. Representatives of IPSF participated in the October 2004 European Pharmaceutical Students' Association Autumn Assembly in Prague, Czech Republic, as well as the 28th EPSA Congress in Bucharest Romania. IPSF and EPSA met several times over the past year to discuss collaboration in projects, particularly the World MaPS event to be held in November 2005.
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50th IPSF World Congress
50th IPSF World Congress, Halifax, Canada, 25th July - 3rd August 2004 The 50th IPSF congress held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, from 25th July to 3rd August 2004 could not have been celebrated with more energy, excitement or enthusiasm. With more than two years in the planning, this congress proved to be a fitting tribute to the spirit of IPSF and its history on its golden anniversary. There were 304 pharmacy students that attended the ten day programme representing over 40 countries worldwide. The congress was a time to celebrate and acknowledge the progress of the Federation through the determination and effort of past executives. The 2003-2004 term saw the most successful Student Exchange Programme period with over 500 students participating in 46 different countries, the achievement of Official Relations status with WHO, the successful application for the European Union Grant, and celebration of the handover and success of the Neema Village Concept Project.
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50th IPSF World Congress
The congress programme included workshops for Contact Persons, Student Exchange Officers, Public Health, Industrial Pharmacy, Strategic Planning, Regional Groups, and Scientific Research (the Moving On project). Public Health workshops focussed on the topics of HIV/AIDS and Tobacco; Malaria and TB, ageing and multidisciplinary collaboration, and Village Concept Projects. Presentations on successful campaigns were given from various representatives from member associations. Delegates in the Moving On workshop discussed the future of these education research projects and addressed new areas for investigation in the realm of pharmacy education. The workshop was a great success with over 90 delegates in attendance and great enthusiasm for international research at the fore. The Patient Counselling Event proved popular and was videotaped for presentation at the 64th International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Congress PreCongress Concordance Programme. The Clinical Skills event was also well attended, attracting approximately 40 students from around 15 countries. Part one of the Scientific Symposium presented on the theme of 'Outbreak Management/Emergency Response by Pharmacists' and featured inspiring presentations by Canadian pharmacists on the importance of the role of the pharmacist in managing outbreaks and emergencies in the community. The second part of the Scientific Symposium featured presentations on the theme of 'Medication Error Reduction' The theme for this year's Education Forum was 'Teaching and Technology'. Informative and entertaining presentations were well received from international guest speakers and IPSF supporters on how technology impacts on service developments, risk management, and quality of education. A thought provoking lecture and workshop to 'Design the Perfect Pharmacy' formed the second part of the Education Forum with students forming groups to compete in designing the perfect pharmacy of the future and taking into account the needs of consumers. Highlights of the congress included the launch of the new Online Student Exchange Programme and IPSF website, welcome of seven new associations into the federation, election of the National Australian Pharmacy Students Association (NAPSA) to host the 52nd Annual IPSF Congress in 2006, election of Honorary Life Members Simon Bell, Conchetta Lesser, Boyan Tordorov and Chan Xuan Hao, election of the new 50th IPSF Executive, presentations by our distinguished guest speakers and the spectacular Gala Night on the Halifax waterfront. The programme was balanced with an exciting range of social events from the mechanical bull riding on Traditional Night at Hatfields Farms to the elegant reception at the Westin Hotel on Gala Night to the very spirited International Night and most successful Development Fund Auction to date. The post-congress tour was the largest ever with 85 delegates participating. Tour participants enjoyed the sites and sounds of two of Canada's largest cities, Montreal and Toronto, and the awesome beauty of Niagara Falls.
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IPSF Promotion
Over the past year, IPSF has endeavored to visit and support the activities of many members, represent IPSF at key regional and international meetings, promote the activities and goals of the Federation to partner organisations, member associations, and non-members. The executive committee together with members of regional committees, subcommittees and other IPSF representatives visited and conducted promotional presentations and participated in meetings in 20 different countries throughout 2004-2005. September 2004: New Orleans, United States of America; New Plymouth, New Zealand; Cairo, Egypt; Bagamoyo, Kiromo, Tanzania. October 2004: Brussels, Belgium; Dunedin, New Zealand. November 2004: Bangkok, Thailand; Jena, Germany; Florence, Italy. December 2004: Tokyo, Japan; Orlando, United States of America; Taiwan. January 2005: Geneva, Switzerland; Utrecht, The Netherlands; Malaysia. February 2005: Oss, The Netherlands; Bonn, Germany; Alexandria, Egypt. March 2005: Malta; Brussels, Belgium; The Hague, The Netherlands; Dunedin, New Zealand; Nottingham, United Kingdom. April 2005: Paris, France; Bucharest, Romania; Nancy, France; Orlando, United States of America, Malaysia, Thailand. May 2005: Soest, The Netherlands; Geneva, Switzerland; Leuven, Belgium; Bonn, Germany; Kingston, Jamaica. June 2005: Porto, Coimbra, Lisbon, Portugal; The Hague, The Netherlands; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Indonesia; Accra, Ghana. July 2005: London, United Kingdom; Geneva, Switzerland.
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Acknowledgements
IPSF is grateful to the following organisations for their generous support and contribution throughout 20042005.
International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) European Union (EU) Management Sciences for Health (MSH) Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association (CPA)
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