Prague EAPC 2013

http://www.eapc-2013.org/greetings.html Invitation from the Local Organzing Committee It is with great pleasure that the Local Organising Team of the 13th EAPC Congress and the Czech Society for Palliative Medicine announce the 13th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative care. This major international event will take place in Prague in May 2013. Prague, the capital city of Czech Republic, lies in the heart of Europe and ranks amongst the most impressive historical cities in the world. The city always played an important part in the history of the nation, country and Europe and now has been honored by holding the 13th EAPC Congress. Thanks to its convenient location Prague is easily accesible from any part of the world by train, bus or plane and is the sixth most visited city in Europe. The congress theme „The Right Way Forward" reflects ideas of our highly respected ex-president Václav Havel. Mr. Havel, the co-founder of Charter 77 and Forum 2000 dedicated his life to the promotion of democracy. His work as an advocate for human rights and freedom is an inspiration to all of us. To explore ways, to prevent conflicts, to support civil society, to do good and tirelessly fight for human rights are values he always tought us to honour. The congress in Prague can bring a great breakthrough in paliative care field in many developing countries among others, and you from all over the world are truly welcome to help us move Paliative Care - The Right Way Forward. We believe the unique atmosphere of Prague as well as the professionally designed scientific program of the congress will create an inspiring environment for lively discussion as well as friendly conversation. We thank the EAPC Board of Directors that we were given this oportunity to hold the 13th EAPC Congress in Prague and we are looking forward to seeing you in May 2013. Ladislav Kabelka Chair of the Local Organizing Committee The Scientific Committee invites you to join the 13th EAPC Congress We are happy to invite you to the 13th World congress of the European Association or Palliative Care. It will be the 13th time we will meet and learn from each others experiences, share knowledge, and start or revive collaborations. Over the last years the EAPC congress became a popular and renowned forum for palliative care professionals from all around the world. The internationality as well as the multi-professionalism of this forum calls for a scientific programme which is as versatile as the audience it is designed for. We are happy and honoured to take up on the task to create this programme representing the many-sidedness of palliative care and we hope to meet the various interests of you -- the congress participants. The 2013 congress theme will be "Palliative Care -- the right way forward". The major thematic thread in the scientific program will relate to access to palliative care as a human right. The programme will discuss the gaps where this human right is not yet available, but also will discuss different models and ways to make palliative care available and accessible for everybody who needs it. This discussion touches ethical, legal, economical, medical, and social challenges which all need to be addressed. The theme also mirrors the direction palliative care is heading to: forward! Against the background of this forward movement topics such as new developments in symptom control and service provision will be covered. We are happy to see this forward movement also in the growth of the palliative care community which is mirrored by the increasing number of congress participants and the quality of the submitted abstracts. As always the scientific content of EAPC congress will be co-designed by the participants themselves, and we are very much looking forward to your input and the oral communication sessions and poster exhibition which will be building on these abstracts. We are looking forward to seeing you in Prague! Lukas Radbruch Chair of the Scientific Committee