ABOUT THE WPA INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS IN CAPE TOWN 18-22 NOVEMBER 2016

Since the WPA International Congress in Cape Town has been awarded by the WPA to SASOP in October 2013, several important developments have occurred:

• The local organizing committee (LOC) for the congress was established in November 2013 consisting of Gerhard Grobler, Mvuyiso Talatala, Solomon Rataemane, Ian Westmore and Bernard Janse van Rensburg (Chair).
• The professional congress organizer company, Scatterlings of Africa, was appointed in January 2014 to assist with the arrangements for the congress (www.soafrica.com)
• Provisional meetings occurred In in February with representatives of the Cape Town International Conference Centre (CTICC), http://www.cticc.co.za, and the Western Cape regional Convention Bureau (WESGRO), http://wesgro.co.za, as well as an onsite visit by the LOC to the CTICC on the 10th April 2014. (See Photo album)
• A letter of intent has been forwarded to potential sponsors of the congress, while a briefing meeting will be held with representatives of the local pharmaceutical industry during the SASOP National Congress from 3-7 September 2014 in Durban (http://www.sasop.co.za/E_N_SC2014_Announ.asp).
• Important marketing opportunities during 2014 for the WPA International Congress in Cape Town will be the different upcoming meetings of the APA in New York in May (www.annualmeeting.psychiatry.org), the Royal College of Psychiatrists in London in June (www.rcpsych.ac.uk/congress) and, in particular, the WPA World Congress in Madrid in September (www.wpamadrid2014.com).
• The website of the WPA International Congress in Cape Town will be launched during the first week of May 2014.

Bernard J van Rensburg
Chair Local Organizing Committee
WPA International Congress in Cape Town 2016

20 April 2014