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| 1 | 2009
Klinisk Biokemi i Norden
The year 2009 is well on the
way and it is time to look back
on the first term of 2006-2008
as a Secretary of the IFCC. I
want to thank all the members
of the Executive Board of 2006-
2008 for collaboration, guidance
and friendship. The three years
have passed by really fast and I
have learned a lot. I have had the
opportunity to visit new countries and cities when
attending IFCC congresses and meetings. I am privi-
leged to know all these fantastic people from all over
the world who are so dedicated to clinical chemistry.
I have had the great pleasure of having gained many
good friends with whom I can always exchange views
and ideas on clinical chemistry and life in general.
It has also been very enlightening to learn how
clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine are prac-
ticed in different parts of the world. It is good to know
that we deal with the same everyday problems and
issues in our laboratories no matter where we are.
The term of the new IFCC Executive Board began
in the beginning of this year and we are facing
new challenges. The old and new Executive Board
had a joint meeting in Milano in the beginning of
December. The new Executive Board will have its first
meeting in the beginning of March. In that meeting
we will have a brainstorming on the mission state-
ment and the goals of the present Board. We will have
busy three years ahead of us.
There are several events in the congress calendar
for 2009. The main event EuroMedLab will be held in
Innsbruck on June 7-11, 2009. In addition, there are
several congresses and conferences held all over the
world under the IFCC auspices. You will find all these
events on the IFCC website.
2010 will be a busy year: IFCC will have General
Conference in Corfu, Greece and this will be very
important for all the National Societies to attend. The
experience of the new type of General Conference of
IFCC NEWS
Päivi Laitinen
last spring was very positive; all the IFCC officials
and the Presidents and National Representatives had
an opportunity to actively participate discussions and
plan the future activities of the IFCC. They also had
an excellent possibility to meet with each other and
to get to know each other. The next Ortho Clinical
Diagnostics Conference will be held in late 2010 and
the topic is “Pregnancy-related conditions”. So, please,
mark these events in your calendars for the future.
One of the priorities of IFCC Executive Board
has been to improve Public Relations. We have been
working hard on improving communication within
IFCC officials as well as with the National Societies
and Corporate Members. For this reason the new
IFCC website has been launched in the beginning
of January 2009. The new website is user-friendly
and easier to navigate and to find different topics. I
urge you to visit the website and learn more of the
IFCC as well as of its activities (www.ifcc.org). The
annual report of the IFCC will be available on the
website in March. This annual report includes the
annual reports of the National Societies. The request
for annual reports has been sent to National Societies
and I hope that many will send their reports to be
included as part of the IFCC annual report.
I wish you all nice spring time with lots of sunshine
and skiing.
Foto: Henrik Alfthan (Korsnäs, Sibbo)
