Dear Colleagues and Friends,

As President of the World Psychiatric Association for the triennium 2011-2014, it is both an honor and a pleasure to invite you to join me in attending our XVI World Congress of Psychiatry, which will be held in Madrid, Spain, on September 14-18, 2014.  As President of this Congress, I selected its theme to be “Focusing on Access, Quality and Humane Care”.  This theme reflects quite well the priorities that I have held during my entire professional career as a psychiatrist.  I also think that these priorities are as important today as they were when I started my professional career.  Moreover, today, they are the most challenging issues pertaining to mental health patients in all regions of the world.

As you probably are aware of, our XV WPA World Congress of Psychiatry held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in September 2011, attracted over 14,000 attendees. I hope to have in the Madrid WPA World Congress of Psychiatry over 15,000 attendees.  As you will soon notice, the quality of this Congress will be second to none; the Convention Center in which we will hold this World Congress is one of the best in the world, and could easily accommodate our goal of 15,000 attendees; the museums, art galleries, and historic places to visit in Madrid are just outstanding.  To mention a few of them, the Prado Museum, Toledo, Aranjuez, La Puerta del Sol, La Gran Via, Avila, El Escorial, and dozens of outstanding restaurants and flamenco dancing shows, as well as historic monuments, parks and gardens.

During my professional career, I always had great expectations for our patients’ well being; I have always worked very hard to achieve my professional and personal objectives on behalf of our patients and our professional organizations; I must admit, however, that I cannot achieve my objectives and goals alone; I need my colleagues and friends from all over the world to join and help me in making this World Congress a symbolic one for years to come.  I look forward to seeing you in Madrid, Spain, on September 14-18, 2014.

Cordially and affectionately,

 

Pedro Ruiz, M.D.
President
World Psychiatric Association (2011-2014)