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The following is information specific for those WSAVA Member Associations interested in forwarding a bid to host the WSAVA World Congress. Highlights are provided with the full WSAVA World Congress Standard Operating Procedures manual linked as a pdf file at the bottom of this page.

For further information, contact the WSAVA Secretariat.

The WSAVA will hold a World Congress (WC) annually; the venues will be distributed equitably around the World. The WC will be held in conjunction with a national congress / meeting / convention of a Member Association. Member Associations interested in organizing a WC are requested to conform to the following format and rules.
The Assembly may decide not to have a WC each year.

The length of the WC should be three to four days. The main or general programme will be in English or will be translated into English simultaneously. The majority of the other programmes (seminars, workshops, poster sessions) should be presented in or translated into English. Ten percent of the programme should be presented in, or translated into, at least one language other than English or that of the host country.

Excluding the time given to affiliated or related association and society meetings, twenty percent of the whole programme time should be allotted to speakers from countries other than the host country.

Arrangements must be made for an opening ceremony to include an address by the WSAVA President and the presentation of the WSAVA AWARDS for Scientific Achievement and Service to the Profession. The Assembly Meeting will be held on or about the first day of the WC.

An Organising Committee will be nominated by the organising association. Four members of the committee will be appointed by the WSAVA Executive Board. One of these must be an Executive Board member, one will be a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee, and the other two will be the chairpersons of the previous two World Congresses. These four members will be intimately involved in all communications and WC-specific decisions. The most efficient and economic means of communication should be used, and this does not necessarily involve travel. Minutes of all meetings and quarterly reports are mandatory and should be in English. All Organising Committee costs will be covered by the organising association.

The use of a Professional Congress Organizer is strongly recommended.

Participants should receive full Proceedings of the WC in English (printed or electronic), including the short communications and research papers. Proceedings must be available during the WC. Participants at the WC shall receive an attendance certificate.

A trade exhibition is required, as this will contribute substantially to the finances of the WC. Exhibitors from all member association countries should be admitted.

If major sponsorship is sought, it must be made available to all potential sponsors. The offer should be open until 18 months prior to the Congress.

Consideration should be given to a social programme for participants and their partners. Post and pre-congress tours may be offered.

In the general programme there will be up to ten "State of the Art" lectures (SOTAL). Such lectures will present the current overview of progress within the subject area and will be presented by speakers of international authority. The Scientific Committee will select the topics and speakers. No one company may sponsors more than one SOTAL per WC.

A basic registration fee is suggested for the WC general programme with additional fees for seminars, workshops and social events. Free registration is recommended for an accompanying person.

There shall be two registration fees for the full main programme; one for WSAVA members and one for non-WSAVA members.

WSAVA Officers, Member Association Representatives, WSAVA Honorary Members, the WSAVA International Lecturer, WSAVA Past Presidents, State of the Art lecturers and recipients of the WSAVA Awards will have complimentary registration for the general programme of the WC.

All speakers, except those presenting free communications, will have complimentary registration for the general programme, but they will have to pay additional fees for seminars and workshops. Complimentary registration for the general programme may be provided for speakers presenting free communications, but this is at the discretion of the Programme Committee.

All speakers, except those presenting free communications, will receive a speaker fee per hour as well as a travel grant (economy round trip air travel plus transfer expenses) and accommodation for up to four nights.

The use of live animals for clinical instruction of any kind during the WC is not permitted.

Meetings of affiliated or related associations and societies are essential; they should be held either immediately before or after the World Congress. The association or society will be responsible for any registration fee and any reimbursement of speakers. The meeting facilities (i.e. room and reasonable audiovisual facilities) will be provided by the World Congress organising association.

The WSAVA Award recipients will contribute to the general programme and they will submit their written papers for publication in the Journal of Small Animal Practice or other medium at the discretion of the Executive Board. (Such papers will be subject to the usual review process procedures).

A complimentary meeting room for the WSAVA officers and the Assembly will be provided by the organising association. The organising association will arrange for access to word processing equipment and a photocopier. A professional photographer will be required to cover the opening, closing, and Awards ceremonies. Press facilities will be made available.

Complimentary accommodation will be provided for the WSAVA Executive Board for the duration of the WC.

A Member Association which has been a full member for at least one year, may apply to organise a WC. A detailed plan of the proposed Congress together with information concerning the date, location and facilities of the Congress centre should be forwarded to the members of the WSAVA Executive Board at least 8 months before the next Assembly Meeting. Details of how the Congress Protocol will be implemented must be provided. If the Executive Board is satisfied with (the quality of) the proposal, the Member Association may put its bid to the vote at the Assembly Meeting. In the event of multiple bids, the Executive Board shall inform the Assembly as to its suggested choice and reasons why (Appendix 1 scoring system) before any vote takes place. The full written proposal must have been sent out to Assembly members 60 days prior to the Assembly meeting. Postal votes will only be accepted if this has occured.

Within 30 days of the bid being accepted, a letter of agreement must be signed by the Presidents of the host association and the WSAVA to ensure that the World Congress Protocol is followed.

Bids will be accepted for WCs up to and including 4 years ahead.

For more specific host association budgeting and financial obligations, see section 5 and other relevant components of the World Congress SOP.

• WSAVA Congress SOP Manual