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WSAVA 2010 Geneva World Congress Highlights

Close to 2,000 attendees from all over the world came together in the international yet intimate, historical, and culturally diverse city of Geneva, Switzerland to learn and celebrate the collegiality of veterinary medicine. Hosted by Swiss Association for Small Animal Medicine (SVK-ASMPA), the 35th WSAVA World Congress was held in conjunction with the 16th FECAVA, the 41st SVK-ASMPA, and 5th FAFVAC’s Congresses. In addition to the scientific program that featured 79 world-renowned veterinary lecturers covering over 25 disciplines in 207 lectures featured in English, French, and German translations, including 6 State-of-the-Art Lectures (SOTALS), there were WSAVA Human-Animal Interaction, WSAVA Hereditary Diseases, FECAVA Symposium, and a North American Veterinary Conference “how I treat” stream, as well a Pre-Congress Forum sponsored by the International Veterinary Ear Nose and Throat Association. This was complemented by a range of Short Communications featuring abstracts that highlighted veterinary research from around the globe.

The international appeal of the WSAVA World Congress was reflected in the attendee diversity, with people attending from 72 countries representing every continent but Antarctica. The top five countries based on delegate attendance were Switzerland, France, United Kingdom, Germany, and the United Sates.
Evenings were spent meeting old friends and making new ones at a variety of lively social events. The Opening Ceremonies took place on Wednesday, June 3 and, following presentation of the prestigious WSAVA Awards (see below), the evening closed with cocktails served in the Exhibition area. The famous Geneva fountain, Jet D’Eau, was the backdrop for the Gala evening which took place on Thursday, June 3. Watching a gorgeous sunset over Lake Geneva and the surrounding mountains, dinner guests enjoyed an hour-long cruise followed by an elegant dinner aboard the cruise boat. The following night hosted the Swiss Evening Party, which took place at the historic Batiment des Forces Motrices, a former hydro electrical factory on the Rhone River, where guests were treated to a variety of Swiss foods, including fondue, local wine, and Swiss music. As the saying goes, “all good things must come to an end”, as Saturday saw the Closing Ceremonies where the hard work of the many volunteers was recognized and a presentation by next year’s Congress host – Jeju, Korea featuring several traditional Korean dances – ensured that many of those present would be sure to join their colleagues again for the 36th WSAVA Congress to be held from October 14-17, 2011 on the exotic island of Jeju, Korea.

The Congress was supported by WSAVA Prime Partner Hill’s Pet Nutrition, and partner’s Nestle Purina, Novartis, and Pfizer Animal Health. They joined the 87 exhibitor-strong Exhibition Hall.

Link for Congress pictures

WSAVA Assembly Meeting
WSAVA President Dr. David Wadsworth welcomed the Assembly members after an 11-month hiatus since the last assembly meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil July 21-24, 2009. He provided assembly members updates from a very active WSAVA leadership, including the Executive Board and various committees, that saw the WSAVA become an incorporated, not-for-profit entity in Canada, with the WSAVA Charitable Foundation to follow shortly.

The Congress Steering Committee proposed the following motions that will see the vibrant WSAVA Congress enhances while providing for the future financial sustainability of the WSAVA:
• The CSC implemented the Assembly adopted motion to enter into a preferred partner relationship with a Professional Congress Organizer through an RFP that narrowed the field to two international PCOs with final partner selection based on a case study of the 2014 WSAVA World Congress
• The WSAVA World Congress will rotate through three global regions, comprised of the Americas; Europe, Africa, and the middle East; and Oceana/Asia.
They were adopted by a majority vote of 2010 Assembly participants.

WSAVA Officer elections were held, which saw Prof Jolle Kirpensteijn (Netherlands) assume the WSAVA Presidency, Prof Peter Ihrke (USA) became President Elect, Dr. Di Sheehan (Australia) shifted from Treasurer to Vice President, Dr. Veronica Leong (Hong Kong) retained her seat as 7th Board Member, and Dr. Shane Ryan (Singapore) joined the Board as Honorary Treasurer. Dr. David Wadsworth (UK) assumed the Past Presidency and Dr. Walt Ingwersen (Canada) remains as Honorary Secretary.

In addition, the past and ongoing contributions of Prof Ellen Bjerkaas to the WSAVA and international veterinary community were recognized through her receipt of the 2010 WSAVA President’s Award. As well, the assembly members voted in favour of accepting one new affiliate member association – Academy of Veterinary Dentistry, and
Capetown, South Africa was voted as the host of the 2014 WSAVA Congress.

For more details, please read the Assembly Minutes.

Read incoming President Jolle Kirpensteijn's inaugural Presidential message

2010 WSAVA Award Winners

WSAVA President’s Award
This award is made only periodically by the President of the WSAVA to a member of the WSAVA who is judged to have made an outstanding contribution to the association. This year, the award was made to Prof. Dr. Ellen Bjerkaas DECVO. Prof Dr. Bjerkaas has been a long-time supporter of the WSAVA and served the association in many capacities, including being the Norwegian Assembly representative and sitting on the Financial Advisory Committee. She has also speerheaded the Norwegian Small Animal Veterinary Association's involvement in the WSAVA CE Programme, which has resulted in CE provision to various countries including Cuba.

For more complete information on all of the WSAVA Award winners, visit the 2010 Awards page of the WSAVA website.

Proceedings Available On-Line

Proceedings from the WSAVA 2010 World Congress are available on-line via the WSAVA website (link on the right-hand column of the Homepage or via this direct link).

The WSAVA World Congress proceedings are also available online in a partnership with IVIS (International Veterinary Information Service), a New York based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the improvement of animal care by providing up-to-date, clinical information to veterinarians, veterinary students, and animal health professionals, WSAVA.

Future Congresses
Jeju, South Korea – October 14-17, 2011
Birmingham, UK – April 12-15, 2012
Christchurch, New Zealand – March 6-9, 2013
Capetown, South Africa - TBD