YPG at the 70th World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Young Pharmacists' Group Gets Involved at FIP Lisbon
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The FIP Lisbon Congress provided many opportunities for pharmacist involvement and education, and the Young Pharmacists' Group (YPG) worked to maximize these opportunities for young pharmacists throughout the world. There were several education sessions and workshops coordinated by YPG alone or in cooperation with the sections, as well as a productive business meeting to steer the direction of the network for the next year.
First timers´ project
FIP´s First timers´ project celebrated its second birthday on the first day of the congress in Lisbon. There were approximately 200 participants who were eager to get to know each other and discuss the upcoming congress activities and even more! Over the past year, two first timers´ newsletters were published to inform incoming participants on the Federation's activities, and mentors helped participants understand the structure and functioning of the Federation. At Congress, pharmacists from all corners of the world met with their mentors who were in contact with them for several months prior. The mentors helped them to orient to the Congress event list, programme, and meet their colleagues. Moreover, during the FIP congress in Lisbon, there was a meeting point at the FIP booth in the exhibition area where first timers gathered and discussed various issues.
In the coming year there will be more chances to network and discuss issues in Hyderabad for first timers participants. Pharmacists will get the possibility to meet up with the colleagues in groups of their interest and an additional programme will be created. Let´s meet in Hyderabad in 2011!
YPG Official Documents Working Group
At the 10th YPG Business Meeting/Assembly in Lisbon, a 5-member Working Group was created, its members were selected, and Dr. Neveen Abdelghani (YPG Immediate Past Project Coordinator, 2009-10) was named as the Working Group Coordinator, co-opted onto the YPG Steering Committee, 2010-11. The goal of this year's Working Group is to revise and update all of the YPG Official Documents, including the procedures, as well as, statutes. Built into this revision process is the inevitable re-evaluation of the aims and goals of the YPG, as a network of young pharmacists within FIP.
Assisting Neveen with this important endeavor are former YPG Steering Committee Chairs Sónia Faria (Portugal) and Boyan Todorov (Bulgaria), and active members Scott Dalgliesh (UK) and Kerstin Neumann (Germany). Together, they form the 5-member Working Group charged by the 10th YPG Business Meeting Assembly with the aforementioned tasks.
The Lisbon Assembly also approved a timeline for the Working Group, which is briefly summarized below:
1. By the end of the Congress, a chairperson of the Working Group would be selected; that Chair would be co-opted onto the current 2010-11 FIP YPG Steering Committee.
2. By the end of September, all official documents (statutes, procedures, etc.) would be collected, including past/present versions.
3. By February/March, a draft would be finished.
4. By April/May, the draft would be circulated to YPG members and appropriate FIP officials.
5. 4 weeks would be allotted for review and comments collection.
6. By the end of June, a notification would be sent to all YPG members with a summary of the comments and a final draft.
7. By the next YPG Business Meeting in 2011, a final draft would be ready for adoption by the General Assembly.
At this juncture, the Working Group has already completed items 1 and 2 above. By mid-to-late September, all of the pertinent documents and background necessary for the next crucial steps had been collected. Hammering out a draft will require much hard work and discussion over the next few months. YPG members can expect to receive periodic updates over the course of the year and the Working Group will also be soliciting member opinions and thoughts as the process moves forward. We sincerely hope to be able to present the membership with final documents ready for ratification and formal adoption come Hyderabad in 2011!
YPG Projects
YPG's projects were a focus of the business meeting in Lisbon, with a discussion of future projects to be completed by the network. YPG is looking to FIP's Vision 2020 document, which emphasizes that the future success of the organization will be driven, in part, by its ability to attract and cultivate new generations of volunteer leaders with vision and commitment. YPG, through the FIP/YPG Grant for Professional Innovation and the Mike How Award (in collaborating with the Industrial Pharmacy Section and the International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation (IPSF) aims to promote creativity, proactivity and leadership skills on young pharmacists, thus shaping the future of the profession.
In Vision 2020 it is also underlined that there is an increasing globalization of healthcare and that FIP should be at the table wherever and whenever decision makers discuss any aspects of medicines on a global level. Having this in mind, YPG has set a project, which intends to increase awareness regarding the World Health Organization (WHO), the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. This work will continue throughout the year and be presented in Hyderabad in 2011.
