Welcome to the
International Menopause Society

Dear Members

I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me to lead the IMS for the next 3 years. I thank the Past President, David Sturdee, for handing over an organization in excellent shape and health and for his continued support. I am privileged to have a Board of extremely talented members, well representative of the international spread of our Society. The present Board and Officers are faced with unique challenges. Jean Wright has not only served the IMS as Executive Director in an exemplary fashion but also endeared herself to the members in the way she took care of the nuts and bolts of the Society. We thank her and wish her a well-deserved rest and are thankful that she will still be active in the publication department.

Fortunately, the Board managed to secure a worthy successor for the post of Executive Director in the person of Lee Tomkins. Lee brings new skills to the table with a good financial and marketing background. The first challenge is to set up the new Secretariat.

The 14th World Menopause Congress that will take place in Cancun, Mexico in May 2014 presents a particular challenge to the present Board. This will be the first congress where control of the congress reverts back to the IMS and will not be vested in the host country. The IMS will take responsibility for the organization and scientific content of the meeting. Any suggestions from our members in this regard will be appreciated. The IMS Board will be assisted by our core PCO (Biomedical Technologies) as well as the local Organizing Committee under the leadership of Julio Morfin. We urge all members to take note of the date!

The Mission Statement of IMS is to promote and advance communication, education and research of all aspects of the health of the adult women, worldwide. In order to fulfil this mission, the IMS needs a sound financial footing. The mainstream of income is derived from membership fees and the congress income. It is thus vital to maintain and increase our membership and attendance at the next congress. I would appreciate the support of every member in this regard. In spite of the adverse international economic climate of the last few years, we have been fortunate in still receiving significant unrestricted educational grants from the pharmaceutical industry. This source of financing is unfortunately never guaranteed and presently under heavy pressure.

The present Board is also fortunate to have on board our Director of Education, Amos Pines, and Press officer, Tom Parkhill. They both have many years of experience.

On behalf of the Board and the Officers, Rod Baber (General Secretary) and David Archer (Treasurer), I would like to extend an invitation to all members to guide us with your suggestions. The IMS, after all, belongs to the members!

Tobie de Villiers
President IMS

Aims of the IMS

The aims of the IMS are to promote knowledge, study and research on all aspects of aging in men and women; to organize, prepare, hold and participate in international meetings and congresses on menopause and climacteric; and to encourage the interchange of research plans and experience between individual members. The Society is a non-profit association, within the meaning of the Swiss Civil Code. It was created in 1978 in Jerusalem during the Menopause Congress. In addition to organizing congresses, symposia, and workshops, the IMS publishes a quarterly newsletter and owns its own journal: Climacteric, the Journal of the International Menopause Society, published by Informa Healthcare. The IMS has two sub-organs: CAMS, the Council of Affiliated Menopause Societies, and the WSSM, the World School for the Study of the Menopause.

The Council of Affiliated Menopause Societies (CAMS)

CAMS was established as a continuing and tangible line of two-way communication between the Board of the Society and the affiliated and non-affiliated national and regional menopause societies throughout the world. It is instrumental in disseminating the views and opinions of the IMS among the menopause societies and acts as an advisory body to the Board with respect to policy matters and strategy definition, and any other assignments that the IMS Board find appropriate. In addition to facilitating inter-society relationships, CAMS is ideally positioned to carry out pan-society research; all projects are to be submitted to and approved by the IMS Board.

The World School for the Study of Menopause

WSSM is the educational section of the IMS, a non-profit organization created with the aim of promoting knowledge among health-care providers on menopause-related issues and providing the highest-quality, most accurate scientific information. The WSSM provides courses, educational programs and lectures in the field of adult women’s health and menopause. The School collaborates, on invitation, with national and regional menopause societies, offering to participate in the organization of programs in cooperation with the societies, to provide international speakers, and to enrich interchange of ideas and experiences.

The WSSM in Bogota, Colombia

As a preconference course to the X Congreso Colombiano de Menopausia in February 15–17, 2013, the First Regional Advanced Course on Climacteric will be held on February 14. This course is to be jointly certified by the Asociacion Colombiana de Menopausia and the Council of Affiliated Menopause Societies (CAMS) of the International Menopause Society. The Congress and Advanced Course will take place in the Hotel Tequendama in Bogota, Colombia. Presentations will be given by 11 speakers from Europe, North America, South Africa and Latin America, all members of the IMS.

More information can be found at http://www.asomenopausia.com/ or from congreso.menopausia2013@gmail.com.

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