Summary of 2nd Announcement of 16th AFCMA Congress in Kyoto, Japan 10-13 nov.2016
Dear Brothers and sisters in Christ,
Here is a summary of the 2nd announcement of the 16th AFCMA Congress to be held in Kyoto,Japan from 10 to 13 Nov 2016:–
The 16th AFCMA Congress starts with the Welcome Address by Dr. Shigeki Hitomi President of the Japan Catholic Medical Association (JCMA)which is hosting the Congress on Thursday 10 Nov 2016. This is the 3rd time that JCMA is hosting the AFCMA Congress. Dr. Hitomi quoted the main theme of the Congress which is “What should we do for the least of our brethren? (Mathew 25:40) and said that ‘Our world is polarized between the rich and the poor and that we all have to help each other especially considering the least of our brethern’. Dr. Buichi Ishijima who is the Organising Chairman of the 16th AFCMA Congress in his Invitation Speech said that Catholics are a minority in most countries of Asia and proposed that in such a situation, Catholic medical workers have an important mission to follow Christ, put His teachings into practice and proclaim His love in the region.Dr. Buichi informs us that November is the most beautiful month of the year in Kyoto. Kyoto was the capital of Japan for about 1,000 years until 150 years ago . Much of the historical sites are preserved here.
The Scientific Program kicks off on Thursday 10 Nov. 2016 starting with Registration at the Brighton Hotel at 15:00-17:00 followed by Opening Mass, Opening Ceremony , Welcome Address and Welcome Reception.
The lectures proper start with the traditional Alimurung Lecture on Friday 11 Nov 2016 at the Shiran Kaikan. This is a special lecture which will be delivered by Dr. Masayo Takahashi a world renowned scientist who will talk on “Retinal Cell Therapy using iPS cells” at 09:30-10:30.
This will be followed by Sessions 1 to 4.
Session 1:Entitled :Health care for elderly clergy. There are 5 speakers here from various parts of Asia who will talk on the various aspects and ways of trying to help the the elderly clergy in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other countries.
Session 2 is on AIDS: Present State and Struggles against it in Asian countries. Speakers from Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan will discuss the status, struggles and challenges against AIDS in their respective countries.
Session 3: Care for Aged Patients in their terminal stage. This is an important issue affecting us Catholic Doctors. Advance Directives, ‘Natural death’ and Human Dignity at the end of life will be discussed in this session.
Session 4:Protecting the rights of children,especially trafficking and abuse of small children. Come and hear the speakers talk on child abuse in Japan, kid on the market,child maltreatment intervention, etc..
FIAMC Council meeting starts at 19:00 at the Garden Palace Hotel.
On Sat 12 Nov 2016 at the Shiran kaikan there are 3 free paper sessions viz. :Session 5,6 and 7. There will be 24 free papers discussed starting 09:30-11:59. Various issues covering different issues will be discussed here viz.: ‘Love and Truth formation of a Catholic Physician’by Sister Mary Lou, ‘Knowledge, attitude and behavior of medical student on abortion in Jakarta, Indonesia’, ‘Ten years of surgical mission for lepers with Missionaries of Charity in India’by Etienne Gaisne, and many more for you to choose from.
12:00-1:00 is Lunch/ Exco Meeting for Board Members at the Shirankaikan Annex,B1.
Session 8 is reserved for Poster Presentation: All the various speakers from AFCMA Member Countries are to standby for discussion in front of their own poster.They will present their photos and write-ups depicting their Association’s activities like Outrearch Programs,etc..This will be like a Mini Country Report ant prizes will be awarded to the best presentations.
Session 9:Post –disaster care.Here the Japan Catholic Medical Association will tell us about the various type of support that its Members had given the victims of the earthquake disasters in Japan.
Session 10:Contributions from outside of the AFCMA:Amongst the speakers, Dr. Blin will tell us about the 50 years about FIAMC from its creation.Suadeau Jacques will talk on ‘Prenatal Genetic Diagnosis and Genome editing’.
18:00-20:00;After a fruitful and tiring day we return to Brighton Hotel for the Congress Banquet where we will enjoy the fellowship of the participants of member countries of AFCMA as well as make new friends besides enjoying the food.
Sunday 13 Nov 2013 at 9:30-10:40 the Shiran Kaikan.This will be the last day of the Congress. Session 11 is devoted to Country Reports: In this session all the various member Countries are required to produce a country report about their Associations’s Activities during the last 4 years 2012-2016 and share it with their brother Member Countries in AFCMA.
11:00-12:00 The Congress will close with the Closing Mass and Ceremony at the Shiran Kaikan.
Finally a Free City Tour is given to us by kind courtesy of the Organisers for the delegates who have Registered by 2 Sept.2016 from 13:00-17:00.This will be good for those of us who have not been to Kyoto before. The Organisers have also given cheap registration fees and Accommodation to entice medical students to attend the Congress as they maybe future leaders in their respective countries.
If you have any query kindly contact the AFCMA Congress secretariat at afcma2016@oco-prime.com.
SAYONARA!
Prepared by Dr. Freddie Loh Chairman FIAMC Membership Committee, Immediate past president AFCMA.
