On September 12 2012, I received the historic Poncho in Sydney, Australia, in front of friends and colleagues from every part of the world. It is my great honor and privilege to have this chance to serve as President of this prestigious society, the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery.

In 2000, the President of ISPN, Dr. Harold Rekate summarized the mission of our Society as follows emphasizing the importance of scientific and educational activities. “The ISPN seeks to promote the health of children throughout the world by encouraging the ethical transmission and exchange of neuroscientific information and techniques related to Pediatric Neurosurgery.”

I will humbly seek to fulfil this important mandate during my term as President of the ISPN. I will manage the affairs of our Society and carry out the resolutions of the Executive Board and Business Meeting, especially relating to our scientific and educational activities, in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws of our Society.

With your support as members of ISPN, I will do my best to further enhance the accountability, sustainability and future prospects of our Society, building on the great endeavors and contributions made by preceding Presidents and members of Executive Board.

Our immediate past President Dr. Tadanori Tomita, past Secretary Dr. Graciela Zuccaro, Treasurer Dr. Frederick Boop and their team did wonderful job during their term. With great contribution of Dr. John Kestle, Chairman of Scientific Committee, and Dr. Charlie Teo, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, the 40th Annual Meeting was held in Sydney with great success. In addition to the updated scientific contents, pleasant weather, beautiful scenery and warm hospitality of Australian people impressed all the participants of the meeting.

This year, educational courses were held or will be held at four cities under the leadership of Dr. Gianpiero Tamburrini, the Chairman of Education Committee: Nairobi (Kenya), Manila (Philippines), Suzhou (China) and New Delhi (India).

The members of Executive Board accepted the need for a professional convention organizer (PCO) for continuous and consistent management of general affairs of our Society and for efficient promotion of annual meetings with a ‘no loss guarantee’. We expect a higher level of financial stability and secretarial efficiency than ever before and Dr. Tomita spent a lot of time investigating various options with candidate PCOs and we are close to concluding an agreement.

The website could be managed and upgraded well by the efforts of current and past Chairmen of Communication Committee, Drs. Graham Fieggen and William Harkness. With the continuing great endeavors of Dr. Rick Abbott, the website textbook, the “Guide” is taking shape as a truly innovative educational resource.

The number of members was increased (the Chairman of Membership Committee Dr. Yusuf Ersahin), ethical issues were discussed in depth (the Chairman of Ethics and Morals Committee Dr. Takayuki Inagaki), and the young neurosurgeons from the developing countries were supported by the Society (the Chairman of Ways and Means Committee Dr. Francisco Salomao). Dr. Guirish Solanki, the Chairman of Liaison Committee, found ways to cooperate with related societies, especially those in the field of pediatric neuro-oncology. The Chairman of Bylaws Committee Dr. Shlomi Constantini reviewed the Constitution and Bylaws and suggested several points for revision.

With the professional long-term management of our journal, Child’s Nervous System, Dr. Concezio Di Rocco improved the quality of the published articles and elevated the impact factor up to 1.542 (2011).

It is my good fortune and joy to work with outstanding leaders of our Society during my term. Dr. Gordon McComb was elected as the next President and Dr. Constantini was nominated as the Secretary. Drs. Hamilton Matushita (Audit), Chidambaram Balasubramaniam (Bylaws), Reizo Shirane (Ethics and Morals), Matthieu Vinchon (Liaison), Young-Shin Ra (Scientific) and Douglas Cochrane (Ways and Means) newly joined the Executive Board this year. Continuing the basic activities of our Society, we would like to do the following tasks in addition. With the help of Dr. Tomita the Core PCO may start working for the Society; website may function as a more powerful tool for the management, education and communication; the operation details of each Committee will be written in documents; a long term archive system will be designed.

From September 29 (Sunday) to October 03 (Thursday) 2013, the 41st Annual Meeting will be held in Mainz, Germany, a well-known and historical city of cultural heritage and beautiful scenery surrounding the Rhine River. Dr. Wolfgang Wagner and his colleagues are preparing a warm welcome to Mainz for all our members, their families and our guests. Please come and enjoy a unique blend of state-of-the-art science and warm German hospitality. I look forward this meeting building even stronger bridges of friendship and fellowship between our members.

Again, as I commence my term as President, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all members of the Society for giving me this chance to serve.

Sincerely yours,

Kyu-Chang Wang

ISPN President 2012-2013