I am pleased and honoured to announce that the second International Ostomy Association (IOA) 20/40 focus meeting will be held in Hamilton, October 13th - 16th 2001. Hamilton won out over Penang, Malaysia for this meeting and was awarded the conference following a tour in August.
The exact location of the meeting is still to be determined between the major downtown facilities but the date is fixed. The first 20/40 focus, in October 1999, was held in Copenhagen, Denmark and was attended by over 90 people with ostomies between the ages of 20 and 40. This group represented 21 countries. We are hoping to have 150 people from equally as many countries attend the meeting in Hamilton.
There are many positives to having the meeting in Hamilton, not the least of which is to get people from the 20/40 age group, not currently involved with the local association, to become more active. I think that hosting a world meeting reflects positively on the local association and is a great opportunity to increase our profile in local media, medical and public minds.
Kevin McHugh, President, Hamilton OA, Sep. 2000
Editor's note: The WOA executive will be considering sponsoring people to attend this event. Let them know if you are interested.
