Dear readers, Ever since my first congress in 2002 I knew IPSF was a remarkable organisation. But how remarkable it actually is, I only realised while I was working on this book. Established right after World War II to promote international cooperation between pharmacy students, our Federation is the symbol of peaceful collaboration and cultural understanding. This in itself is an enormous achievement, but IPSF is much more than that. Advocating for pharmacy students, helping to develop pharmacy curricula around the globe, contributing to the improvement of health care systems, distributing information on healthy lifestyles and engaging in humanitarian projects – those are all faces of the Federation. It was an honour to serve IPSF as an executive committee member (as Secretary General 2005-07 and Chairperson of Student Exchange 2004-05) and it was a pleasure to be the editor of this book – a huge but very enjoyable task that allowed me to further extend my knowledge of IPSF. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all editors of previous anniversary books, which proved to be an invaluable source of information, all past IPSFers - many of them are Honorary Life Members – who helped the formation of this book by contributing with information, new ideas, different views and proofreading, the executive committee 2008-09, who supported both the idea and the production of the book and of course Bálint Tóth, Student Exchange Officer of Hungary, who travelled with me to The Netherlands and assisted me on my mission to the attic where the archives are held. A special thank you goes to Otto Föcking, whose photo donations make early days of IPSF visible to us today. I hope reading this anniversary book will be at least as pleasurable as making it was! Yours in IPSF, Georgina Gál (Hungary) Editor Dear IPSF friends, It is with great pleasure that IPSF presents you the 60th anniversary history book since our establishment in 1949. Our 60th anniversary is a great achievement and a testament to the strength of our Federation. I hope this short summary of our invaluable history is inspirational to all those who read it and also serves as fond memoirs for those who have had the privilege of serving for this great platform of student advocacy and leadership. I would like to personally thank Georgina Gal (Hungary) and Balint Toth (Hungary) for their efforts in visiting the IPSF archives in The Hague, The Netherlands, during May 2009 to compile this book. Also thank you to all IPSFers who have contributed to proof reading and clarifying IPSF’s history during their time of involvement. As President of IPSF this year, I am fortunate to serve the Federation in the usual presidential capacity but also to coordinate the celebrations of our 60th anniversary being set up around the world throughout 2009 - in Penang Malaysia, Bali Indonesia, Accra Ghana and Istanbul Turkey. In the final chapter of this book I will also share some insight from this year’s current executive achievements and the future direction of IPSF that I hope to see. Happy reading and thank you to all who have played a part in serving this noble Federation during its lifetime thus far. Vive le Pharmacie! John Nguyen (Australia) President 2008-09
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation