Welcome address
Dear Colleagues, distinguished Guests and Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am very pleased and honored for your kind invitation to give a welcome address in the occasion of the foundation of the Academia Panamericana de Historia de la Medicina and of the official opening ceremony of the Primer Congreso Panamericano.
I am particularly delighted to know that this event takes place in the year the University of Costa Rica celebrates its 75th Anniversary, the 158th Anniversary since the institution of Protomedicato, the ancestor of contemporary Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos.
On behalf of the International Society of the History of Medicine I present the warmest wishes to the President and the Vice President of the Academia de Historia de la Medicina de Costa Rica, Rolando Cruz Gutiérrrez and Pedro Goyenaga Hernández, as well as to the members of the Scientific and Organizing Committees for their endeavour in the organization of this important event.
The Primer Congreso Panamericano, which highlights the American contribution to the history of medicine, takes place in the lovely town of San José, in the geographical heart of the New World, from where come three Vice Presidents of the ISHM: and I am very pleased to greet here, two of them, Carlos Viesca Trevino from Mexico and Ana María Rosso from Argentina, and the highly esteemed and authoritative National Delegate of Costa Rica within the ISHM, Rolando Cruz Gutiérrez. Their role in the ISHM underlines the relevance recognized by the scientific community of historians of medicine worldwide to Latin America in this field.
Moreover, I am pleased to remember that the next ISHM congress will take place in Buenos Aires, in the occasion of the bicentennial of the independency of Argentina, thanks to the commitment of our Vice President Ana María Rosso.
Therefore, the foundation of the Academia Panamericana de Historia de la Medicina occurs timely in a very favourable frame of international connection and scientific involvement.
Dear Colleagues, whereas progress gratifies the mankind with a continuous harvest of successful new cures, at the same time it presents more and more multifaceted problems. I am sure that this event is going to offer a truly multicultural experience, an excellent opportunity to afford, through history, old a new questions raised by the exceptional advancement of contemporary medicine.
Bridging the past with the future, this congress will foster also new international cooperation, stimulating different views and challenging ideas, one of the main goals of the International Society of the History of Medicine I am proud to represent.
I warmly renovate my welcome and I wish all of you a very productive and enjoyable congress.
Prof. Giorgio Zanchin, MD
President - International Society for the History of Medicine
Professor of Neurology - Padua University Medical School