PARO Newsletter, Issue 1

IPSF PARO Newsletter

#1

THIS ISSUE: PARS 5 Information about the Pan American Regional Symposium

RWG

Check out what the Regional Working Group has been up to this year

PUBLIC HEALTH

BLOGS

Learn about current public health initiatives in the PARO Region

Reports of experiences by the RWG

1

Welcome

8th IPSF Pan American Regional Symposium Araraquara, Brazil August 24th-31th, 2014 The IPSF Pan American Regional Symposium (IPSF PARS) is the event organized by the IPSF Pan American Regional Office (IPSF PARO). The last symposium happened at Cuernavaca, Mexico in 2008 and now, in 2014, it is back in Araraquara, Brazil.

The IPSF PARS is the main event for the Pan-American Regional Office, with the Regional Assembly, Professional Development training, Development of a focused Public Health Campaign, visit to pharmacy industries, a hospital and a beer industry.

PARS To register, please contact your association’s Contact Person so he/she can provide you with a Confirmation Letter.

Dear students from the American Continent and from all over the world, we, from the Reception Committee welcome you to the 8th IPSF Pan American Regional Symposium’s website and hope that you like it.

If you want to know more about our wonderful country, please visit our page about Brazil. The event will take place in Araraquara, a small city in the state of São Paulo. More information about Araraquara, our university and some places you will get to visit during your time at PARS, please see our page about Araraquara.

When you find out more about the event, you can check the registration page for details related to payment, dates and spots available.

Don’t miss it!

For any question, please contact Ms. Ana Tereza Cruz, Chairperson of the 8th IPSF PARS at pars@paro.ipsf.org

The schedule page has the updated schedule and important information for when you decide to book your flights. Be sure to visit often to check for updates and more information on the events that will take place. Soon we will post details related to the Regional Assembly, trainings, PCE/CSE as well as our diabetes campaign.

For More Information Visit: http://paro.ipsf.org/pars2014/

The 8th IPSF PARS will happen on August 24th to 31th and it will be winter in Brazil, with a medium temperature of 16,3ºC minimum to 37,7ºC maximum.

Brazil has more than 200 colleges of pharmacy and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCF) that will be hosting the Regional Assemblies is one of them. ENEFAR (National Executive of Pharmacy Students) is the association that represents the pharmacy students in Brazil. CACIF is the Academic Center of FCF, the official representative of the pharmacy students at our university that has just recently in 2012 become a member of IPSF.

Many students live in the city as there are multiple universities and colleges, creating a student atmosphere. There are many bars downtown and places for students to have fun and relax, plus multiple parties throughout the school year. In general, it is a very safe place to be and live but avoid walking alone at night which is similar to other precautions you would take in major cities around the world.

One useful piece of information is that in August it is winter in Araraquara. The average temperature is 22°C and there is not much rain so pack accordingly. One of the places you will get to visit during PARS is Hospital das Clínicas de Ribeirão Preto (Clinic Hospital of Ribeirão Preto) which is less than an hour away from Araraquara.

It is a teaching hospital of the Medical School of Ribeirão Preto associated with the University of São Paulo (USP). It was built in 1956 and its mission is to develop assistance, education and scientific research in close collaboration with other teaching units. In 1968, they performed the first kidney transplant in Brazil and since 1992 when they performed a bone marrow

transplant. In 2002 they conducted the first stem cell transplant for lupus treatment and later the first stem cell transplant for multiple sclerosis in the country. They also conducted the first stem cell transplant to treat type 1 diabetes in the world.

Brazil (in Portuguese, Brasil) is the largest country of South America with 8,515,767 km² and an estimate population of 201,032,714 inhabitants. Brasilia is its capital, with 2.789.761 inhabitants. The Brazilian economy is the world’s seventh largest with a GDP (Gross domestic product) of US$2.422 trillion. It is a tropical country well known for its beaches and tropical weather. The most famous event is the Carnaval, which is a 4 days holiday, including a weekend, where people of all over the country, and all over the world, go to the most famous beaches and touristic cities, like Rio de Janeiro to celebrate. This year, Brazil will host the World Cup in early June, as the Olympics in 2016.

You can see here the program for the 8th IPSF PARS – Araraquara/Brazil and some advices for booking the flight.

Attention Participants: For the flight booking Day 0: All the participants must arrive in “Guarulhos International Airport” (GRU). We will have two buses to transport from Guarulhos to Araraquara, the first at 12:00 (GMT-3) and the second at 18:00 (GMT-3), with lunch or dinner included on the trip. The Reception Committee (RC) cannot take the participant in other Airports in Brazil, nor after 18:00 (GMT-3). If you have any problems, the RC will gladly help.

Day 6: The participants will leave Araraquara at 10:00 (GMT-3) arriving in Guarulhos International at 16:00 (GMT-3), lunch is included for all the participants.

Meet the 2013-2014 Regional Working Group Chairperson – Lucas Ercolin, CACIF Brazil Olá a todos, My name is Lucas Ercolin writing from my hometown Piracicaba, 137 Km to the west from the Brazilian Association, "Centro Acadêmico de Ciências Farmacêuticas" (Academic Center of Pharmaceutical Sciences - CACIF) and 152 Km east from São Paulo, the biggest city of Brazil. I am in my last year of my university and, maybe while you are reading this, I am already a pharmacist on my way to the Master’s Degree.

In CACIF, as Scientific Director, I discovered IPSF and started to make my association the only Brazilian Member of IPSF. My will to make this happen took me to my childhood dream: visiting Egypt. I went to Hurghada to the 58th IPSF World Congress, and established full participation with the Leaders in Training and Post Congress Tour of 10 days, completing 27 days of the most shocking experience culturally, historically, ideologically and lifetime awaited. There, I decided to run for Regional Relations Officer of PARO. The outstanding experience with the Regional, Events (FIP Centennial and 1st Pharmatour) and contacts with people all over the world made me decide to run for the Chairperson of the Pan American Regional Office at the 59th World Congress in Utrecht, Netherlands.

As Chairperson, my goals are clear: raise the participation of the actual members and look for growing the region with new members and work on the Pan American Regional Symposium (PARS). I want to also work on the Media and Publications of the region by creating a multilingual system. The achievements of the Media and Publications will be heavily pushed through the events blog and Facebook page.

Regarding PARS, which will be in Brazil, I am working closely with the Reception Committee to make an outstanding event for our region and the 4th Leadership Meeting will help to get the members closer and to introduce IPSF to potential new members. But much more is about to come! So make sure your ready PARO! Viva la Pharmacie!

Regional Projects Officer – Bárbara Villela, CACIF Brazil I am from Brazil and my university is UNESP, one of the best in the country (in my biased opinion). Last year I was responsible to the Vampire Cup in IPSF PARO and I loved the job. Applying for Regional Projects Officer was the natural next step. The Regional Projects Officer is responsible for the projects within IPSF PARO and maintains contact with the Public Health Chairperson within IPSF. Our goal is to bring the projects and adapt them to our region.

These first few months have been of discovery and team work. We have promoted World Diabetes Day in our Diabetes Awareness Campaign (November), World AIDS Day (December) and made important strives related to future campaigns. Our website is being constantly updated with information related to past/future campaigns to provide all our members with materials and help them implement these campaigns at a local level. I have attended the Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health (November) and am hoping to attend the World Health Assembly (May) and the IPSF World Congress (July/August). Last but not least, we have also been working with the RCs from the Pan American Regional Symposium (PARS), which will happen in Brazil, to create a great event for you!

Secretary – Grace Chun, APhA-ASP U.S.A. I attend Philadelphia College of Pharmacy located in the center of Philadelphia, second largest city on the East Coast of the United States. I am part of American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and used to be IPSF VicePresident for our school’s chapter. I am excited to be part of Pan-American Regional Working Group this year to assist on promoting the public health series.

The Secretary of PARO is responsible for documenting minutes, organizing budget information, and recording important agenda points. As the secretary of PARO, I have strived myself to be an integral member of PARO regional working group (RWG). I have led the promotion idea for the online smoking cessation program offered by John’s Hopkins University with the help of other RWG members. I am also continuing to assist to organize the Pan-American Regional Symposium in Brazil this summer 2014!

Regional Relations Officer - Jorge Schlรถttke, AEFRA Argentina Come!! Join us!!

Hello mates, I am Jorge Schlรถttke from Argentina. I am the Regional Relations Officer (RRO) of PARO. I am studying in the Universidad Nacional de San Luis and I am in my last year of pharmacy school. I had the opportunity to participate in the 59th IPSF World Congress in Utrecht and also in the Leaders in Training Program in 2013. Participating there was one of the most important experiences in my life. I had the experiences in my life. I had the possibility to meet people from many different possibility to know people from many countries and also to get to know new cultures and traditions. I made friends that I still different countries and also to get to keep in contact with until today, and I know that someday we will be together again, know new cultures and traditions. I this is IPSF. made friends that I still keep in contact untilperiod today,isand I know My goalswith for this to bring new associations to IPSF, recover the contact with that someday we will previous members andbetotogether support the creation of new associations. As of today we again,7 this is IPSF.from the Pan American Region that are involved in IPSF, which means have countries that we have enormous potential to extend the IPSF spirit in this region. My idea is to work together my Membership Promotion Subcommittee and bring new ideas to the Regional Working Group in order to make this the best year possible. We are currently working on producing new promotional materials such as videos or newsletters, so keep your eyes open for this!

IPSF opened my perspectives within the field of pharmacy. IPSF has demonstrated what we as pharmacy students can contribute to our profession. It also encourages the development of our colleagues and the Federation as a whole to continuously helps us to grow our skills. Today I have a new vision and a new way of life, and that is: IPSF.

Internal Coordination and Communication Officer – Hend Barry, As ICCO, I plan to bring a lot to the table this year for PARO. APhA-ASP U.S.A. Hi PARO! My name is Hend Barry and I am your Internal Communication and Coordination Officer. I am originally from Egypt but attend pharmacy school in the United States at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. I am part of American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and last year I was my schools APhA-IPSF Liaison and also the PARO Translation Committee Chair.

As ICCO, I plan to bring a lot to the table this year for PARO. I have started the events blog on the PARO website to encourage more project and information sharing throughout our region. Also, one of my goals was to start the PARO regional newsletter which is actually this one! I have also increased the amount of informational posts (in the 3 most prominent languages of our region) on the PARO Facebook page in order to get information to our members as quickly and efficiently as possible. Throughout the rest of this year, I hope to continue to connect PARO to IPSF through media and promotion and strengthen our region through continual improvement of communication. I hope to work with the amazing regional working group and website development chair to send out monthly newsletters to contact persons in each country to spread PARO news throughout the region!

As the Regional Working Group we are responsible to cater to our region’s needs, so don’t hesitate to email any of us with requests or questions. If there is something that you want to see changed or added into PARO please let us know and we WILL make it happen!

Viva la Pharmacie!

PARS Chairperson – Ana Tereza Cruz, CACIF Brazil My name is Ana Tereza Cruz and I am the Chairperson of the 8th Pan American Regional Symposium. I grew up at Santo André, that is 20 km from São Paulo city but I am living now at Araraquara, a countryside city of São Paulo state, 286 km from the city of São Paulo, where I am on the third year of graduation at UNESP (São Paulo state university). I live here at a “República”, that is similar to the fraternities of United States, with eight other girls and I am working as Cultural Director at the academic center CACIF (Academic Center of Pharmaceutical Science).

As it is the first contact that I had with IPSF and also first time I attend a reception committee in organizing a symposium, everything is being a new experience for me.

That’s because CACIF is one of the newest members of IPSF, so just a few of us had a closely contact with the association.

The whole idea of hosting PARS happened very fast, because we were out of time, since the deadline for confirmation of the event would be in less than 2 weeks. Despite of the hurry, our work is getting really well.

We already have the accommodation confirmed, it will be at Chácara Eliana (Eliana’s farm), which has beds with duvet and bedding, hot showers, tables, sofas, plates, cutlery, kitchen and all the participants might need. One of the enterprices has already confirmed the visit, the Hospital of Ribeirão Preto. The payment will be via paypal and the logo is ready too. We are still working on the website and seeing if it is possible to have the transport from the university.

My work as the Chairperson of the event is being a real challenge for me. I am learning a lot of things and trying to do my best, so our symposium can be a success! I want to thank especially Lucas, Hend and Barbara for all the support and help!

Warm regards!

2013-2014 Pan American Region Subcommittees Membership and Promotion Subcommittee Andres Perez, ACEQF, Colombia Carolina Pulido Moreno, SNAPS, Sweden Luis Argomedo, ACEF, Peru Juan Camilio Enciso Beltran, ACEQF, Colombia Website Development Chair Sara DiTursi, APhA-ASP, USA Public Health Project Coordinator for Vampire Cup Simona Dragieva, APhA-ASP, USA Public Health Project Coordinator for the Public Health Series Miranda Wells, APhA-ASP, USA Media and Publications Subcommittee Angel Acosta, APhA-ASP, USA Luis Sanchez Sebastian, ACEF, Peru Translation Subcommittee Angel Acosta, APhA-ASP, USA Sora Kim, APhA-ASP, USA

PARO Public Health Campaigns Dear IPSFers, It has been a great start for us as the Regional Working Group. Everyone has done an awesome job and we are here to share with you the projects that we have been working on since our handover meeting after World Congress last year.

Our first project was one of the PARO focus projects, the Diabetes Awareness Campaign. It was design to end at the World Diabetes Day, November 14. Our aim was to spread information related to the basics of diabetes (November 5), most common types (November 10), risk factors (November 11) and ways for associations to raise awareness (November 14). This campaign was the first to be posted on our Facebook in three languages (English, Spanish and Portuguese), meeting our goal to expand and try to break language barriers. Our website has all the material posted on Facebook, a few interesting links as well as an event report from APhA-ASP. The continuation of this project will take place in April with the Healthy Living Awareness Campaign.

You can already start planning activities within your school and association and if you need any help, make sure to contact us and we will do our best to assist you.

The second project, and last, of 2013 was focus on the World AIDS Day. IPSF held an essay competition and we encouraged our members to apply as well as send us photos of their own events. We were also very pleased to have received many photo submission from PARO! AIDS is still a very important issue for our region as we have around 3,000,000 living with HIV. You can also find material at our website as well as reports from other association.

WHO has many other special dates dedicated to raising awareness and IPSF PARO will follow these for the year of 2014. Expect future publications related to World TB Day, World Immunization Week, World Health Day, World Malaria Day, World No Tobacco Day and World Hepatitis Day. If you have interesting materials/information/reports that you would like to share related to these days, please feel free to contact us!

Since most of the WHO special dates are later in the year (March onward), we decided to start 2014 talking about oral health as Valentine’s Day is usually related to kissing and chocolates. It might not seem like it, but periodontal diseases are associated with the development of heart disease and exacerbation of heart conditions.

Last but not least, our second focus project is the Vampire Cup Challenge, an international blood donation drive. Not only do you get to help others, but also compete for prizes amongst all IPSF members.

Throughout the year we will post relevant information related to the project, blood donation and to the World Blood Donor Day. If you can't host a blood drive, raising awareness is also a great way to help the cause.

We hope to see all associations participating, sending information, pictures and reports! Let's make 2014 a great year for PARO and IPSF!

PARO Website Blogs 1° Congreso Argentino de Estudiantes de Farmacia : C.A.E.F. Place: San Luis – Argentina

The first congress that AEFRA organized was a success. For this activity, students from seven different Universities from Argentina and from three universities from Colombia met. The congress had a lot of different activities as: conferences, workshops, student’s conferences, posters exhibition, visits to laboratories of production of medicines and workshops to elaborate alcohol gel and emulsions with vitamins A and E. About the social events, the congress counted with opening ceremony at Terrazas del Portezuelo, parties and Gala Dinner at Sierras Hotel.

The topic of the congress was “Pharmaceutical Science and Drug Policy.”

To cover this topic, we brought excellent speakers like Daniel Alvarado (Presidente de Farmaceuticos sin Fronteras Argentina), Ricardo Aizcorbe (Presidente de la Conferderación Farmacéutica Argentina), Jose Cid, Andrea Paura, Vicente Fusco,

Fernando Suvire, Daniel Enriz, Elisa Petenatti, Lilian Pelzer and more.

We made one conferences to present with the CP from ACEQF , Juan Enciso Vargas, our associations and also to present IPSFPARO. We could also establish our first two AEFRA regional’s in La Rioja and Chaco.

Sponsorship helped us to make a really cheap congress with a lot of good activities of great quality. Our main sponsor was the Gobierno de la Provincia de San Luis, and we counted with the collaboration of: Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Confederación Farmacéutica Argentina, Farmacéuticos sin Fronteras Argentina, Farmacia El Chorrillo, Laboratorios Puntanos, Laboratorio Ecochem, Colegio de Farmacéuticos de San Luis and Colegio de Farmacéuticos de San Juan.

After the congress we invite everyone to participate in one “post congress tour” one afternoon and a lot of participants come to learn more about our beautiful province. In conclusion, the congress was an amazing and unforgettable experience for the Reception Committee and the participants.

We learned so much about organization of big events and IPSF was newly discovered for a lot of new people.

Mr. Jorge Schlottke, IPSF PARO Regional Relations Officer

John Hopkins Program: Global Tobacco Control for Healthcare Professionals

understand the seriousness of smoking and how it is affecting individual lives.

Grace Chun, PARO Secretary Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health

As a pharmacist, it is important to help patients to have a better quality of life and guide them to have a healthy-living. One way to help patients is to assist on quit smoking by truly understanding the influence of tobacco on an international level. Dr. Awopegba, a Research Associate at the Institute for Global Tobacco Control, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has developed a special online course on global tobacco control for healthcare professionals. This course, titled “Learning from the Experts: A course for healthcare professionals”, is offered online and is completely free.

All participants who complete this short course will also get a certificate of completion from the Johns Hopkins University. The goal of this program is to reach every Pharmacy student and Pharmacists in the Pan American region through a number of organizations like the Pan American division of the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation. The program is in multiple languages and the one specifically for healthcare professionals contains 5 modules and the last module addresses the role of health care professionals.

I encourage everyone to go to the website: http://hp.globaltobaccocontrol.org/online_ training. In order for you to help the patient is to first understand the patient. This course prepares the pharmacist to better

Let me start this blog post by saying hi to all the PARO IPSFers (and all of those from other regions as well, of course) and introducing myself. My name is Bárbara Scoralick Villela, Regional Projects Officer for IPSF PARO and Brazilian pharmacy student. I am in my sixth year and if all goes well with my thesis presentation, I will graduate in December.

So while I was preparing the final touches (better yet, first touches) of my thesis presentation, I headed off to Recife/Brazil to attend the Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health, along with a few medicine students from IFMSA. In my university, I was always excited when we had speakers from government institutions or NGOs because it was a pleasure for me to see them speak and try to capture as much information as possible. This did not happen often but when it did, I tried to make the most of the experience. But then, I got the opportunity to go to the Forum, and I had the opportunity in my hands to

see all these amazing people in one place, the hardest part was trying to pick the sessions I wanted to see. WHO made my life a little easier by assigning me to certain sessions to create a report. This was an opportunity presented to students to take notes and, along with a professional, summarize the main points. These notes would be used during the event and for the final report. It seemed like a great opportunity to learn more, meet new people and contribute to the event. At the end, the hard work paid off and I recommend this experience to all of you!

Another incredible experience was being able to attend the side events hosted by IFMSA and FIP as well as the track session that had FIP as a participant. With this opportunity I did not only gain knowledge, but I met great people that are an important part of our federation and our future profession. Their presence shaped my experience in this event making these partnerships, in my point of view, essential.

Sometimes, a 5 minute one-on-one talk can provide more information than an hour long lecture. And sometimes, a friendly chat at a bar while having dinner can make a huge difference in your perception of a certain topic. Do not take these experiences for granted. Having fun does not mean not working.

All in all, I can talk about the event and all that I witnessed for hours but the most valuable thing I can say to IPSFers now is make it happen. Whether it is in your home town or an international forum: go, participate, do your research, read the material provided, make a difference, give back to the progression and come back to

tell us about it. Most of all‌ have fun doing it!

Ms. BĂĄrbara Villela, IPSF PARO Regional Projects Officer ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting 2013

Each year the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) convenes pharmacy professionals and pharmacy students worldwide. The educational activities allow professionals to enhance their knowledge skills while participating in discussion on current challenges and topics within their practices. Paramount for students is a national placement service and residency showcase; the premier networking opportunity for students and preceptors of residency programs across the country.

One of the many reason pharmacy students attend this meeting is exposure to professionals in each field to enhance their knowledge on current issues. One major goal for the pharmacy student is learning about hospital residency programs that are available throughout the country and personally meeting with directors of these esteemed programs. This is an opportunity to identify specific programs that

complement your career goals and provide the greatest education to develop as pharmacist.

Admittedly, the residency showcase can be intimidating. In the beginning, one experiences a sea of suite-clad students all in search of the perfect residency. It is no easy task to step before each program group proclaiming why you, out of these thousands of students, deserve their program acceptance. Understanding the program’s focus is important. Remain cool, confident and present yourself as a unique solution to their needs.

Viva la Pharmacie!

Hend Barry, PARO Internal Coordination and Communications Officer Starting PARS in BraziI

My favorite congress experience was meeting up with IPSF friends. Our conversations brightened my day. We talked about the future, and how at first IPSF meeting, we were new to pharmacy school. Now we have bigger dreams of international changes for our beloved profession. We all joined IPSF for a reason that was to accomplish something out of the ordinary. The commonality of which is to work abroad or with underserved populations. With international backgrounds and a desire to become more enlightened, we are eager to understand the world’s pharmacy practice and global implications.

It all started in late November, two weeks until the meeting that would decide whether there would be PARS 2014 or not.

The bid of Costa Rica to host the PARS had not worked out, so until that point, PARS would not have occurred. Then, Lucas Ercolin, Chairperson of PARO, who had been thinking about the possibility of bringing PARS to Brazil, started talking with some of the actual members of the Reception Committee and growing the idea. They liked it and called other CACIF’s members (CACIF is the Academic Center of Pharmaceutical Science of UNESP, my university) to join to the reception committee.

Our good conversations boosted my energy levels until the congress closing. My experience with IPSF was impactful, and the friendships created are so close to my heart. Thank you all for a wonderful opportunity to share in this amazing organization. Good luck in your future. I know you will make great changes!

So we had a proposal, a budget, a schedule, six official members of the reception committee (now we are seven) plus Lucas and Barbara Villela (Regional Projects Officer) that are helping us with all the

work. The only thing that remained was the designations of the positions that we would each take. Lucas, who was first the first in coordinating, could not take position to be the Chairperson, since he is already the Chairperson of PARO. Only one of us from the Reception Committee is attending to the World Congress, so that person would have naturally a closely contact with the IPSF. This is where I came in. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Ana Tereza, Chairperson of the 8th IPSF Pan American Regional Symposium.

After we decided each position, Lucas and I made a presentation for the final meeting with the Executive of IPSF, presented the bid for hosting and it was accepted! Now we are working really hard to have an amazing event and we hope you can come and enjoy it!

Thank you for the attention!

Ana Tereza de Souza Cruz, PARS Chairperson Pan American Regional Symposium Update Hello friends from all over the world, My name is Lucas Ercolin and I am the Chairperson of the Pan American Office.

The International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF) is divided on 5 Regions: African Regional Office (AFRO), Asia Pacific Regional Office (APRO), Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO), European Regional Office (EuRO) and Pan American Regional Office (PARO). The last Pan American Regional Symposium (PARS) happened at Cuernavaca, Mexico, in 2008.

Since then the Regional Working Group (RWG), that coordinates the Region, wanted to have a PARS again. It requires a huge effort from the leading association and Reception Committee. Also the participation of the Region members: ACEQF (Colombia), ACEF (Peru), AEFRA (Argentina), APhA-ASP (USA), CACIF (Brazil), CAPSI (Canada) and FECOEF (Costa Rica).

In June of 2013, ACEQF and IPSF PARO made the Pharmaceutical Tour (Pharmatour) on the cities of Bogota, Cali and Medellín in Colombia. We had the amazing chance to know the Pharmaceutical Profession in the Country, allowing us to think about our own.

Since it, the will for organizing the PARS, became stronger.

FECOEF, led by Mr. Juan Diego Salazar Castro, made a bid to host the 8th PARS in Costa Rica, during the 59th IPSF World Congress, in Utrecht, Netherlands.

As said, organizing an event needs a huge international effort, especially from the host. November, 15th we received the sad news that the host couldn’t organize it any longer.

Not having a Regional Symposium would not result in dramatic things like destroy the Regional Working Group, make the work impossible, or even make our work less important. However, we have the will to make PARS, so we gave it another shot with a call for a new host.

CACIF, one of the newest members of IPSF, that became a Member in Association during the 58th World Congress, in Hurghada, Egypt, answered the call for hosting it in Brazil, bringing IPSF to South America once more.

Now I want to introduce you to the Reception Committee of the 8th PARS, that will happen in Araraquara/Brazil, August 24th to 31th.

Mohamed Ahmed Abou Nassif Neto

Maria Julia Martins

Ana Tereza de Souza Cruz

Alimentation

Chairperson of PARS

Transport

Barbara Miglioli

Gabriel Barbosa Messias

Communications

Accommodations

Gabriela Wollmann

Arthur Svendsen

Treasurer

Communications

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Thank You! In the name of the IPSF Pan American Regional Office with our 21 participants on the Regional Working Group and Subcommittees, I want to thank you! We hope you liked it!

Look forward to the next newsletter and if you want to publish an article or pictures, contact Ms. Hend Barry, Internal Coordination and Communication Officer at icco@paro.ipsf.org.

Viva la Pharmacie!

Be sure to check out our website at http://paro.ipsf.org/ and like “IPSF Pan American Regional Office (IPSF PARO)” on Facebook!

PARO Newsletter Created and Edited by Hend Barry and Sara DiTursi

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