Sticking to the plan, to deliver a very successful, well attended congress - how the FIP continued the preparations for their congress in spite of governmental advice against travel to Thailand and knowing the situation in the country might worsen.
Sticking to the plan, to deliver a very successful, well attended congress - how the FIP continued the preparations for their congress in spite of governmental advice against travel to Thailand and knowing the situation in the country might worsen.
During the preparations for the FIP Congress in Bangkok, we had two major issues to face: the military coup in Thailand and the outbreak of Ebola.
We installed a crisis team in house so that we could monitor developments, provide transparency to our members and prepare for any unexpected emergencies before or during the Congress.
Discovery
The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) is the global federation of national associations of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, and is in official relations with the World Health Organization. Through its 132 member organisations, it represents practitioners and scientists around the world and organises congresses to bring them closer together.
The 74th International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences was held in Bangkok, Thailand, with issues of Access to health as its overall theme. The congress was hosted by FIP in collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Association of Thailand under Royal Patronage.
Examining key challenges such as medicines availability, health workforce distribution and managing the vast amounts of variable information accessible to patients, this year’s FIP congress offered participants the opportunity to increase their impact in ensuring access to health by providing medicines, care and information.
Project period
Spring 2011 - September 2014
Project Team
FIP Leadership
FIP Staff
FIP Volunteers
The Pharmaceutical Association of Thailand under Royal Patronage
Thai Pharmacy Students.
Project Partners
The congress was organised by FIP in collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Association of Thailand under Royal Patronage, who established a Local Host Committee for the purpose of co-organising this congress.
The Local Host Committee was responsible for the following:
promotion of the Congress in Thailand and the surrounding region;
entertainment and master of ceremonies during the Congress Opening Ceremony;
invitations to high national officials for the Opening Ceremony;
welcome reception for all participants;
student volunteers recruitment and uniforms.
In addition to this, FIP was very grateful for all the practical and logistical support we received from the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau. Especially during the preparatory site visits and for our meeting with the military regime, their contribution was invaluable.
Activities
Founding Partners celebrating signing the Agreement of Commitment
Preparations for the FIP 2014 Congress in Bangkok started early 2011, and the destination inspired much enthusiasm among FIP members. However, early in 2014, political unrest in Thailand began, with demonstrations and very negative media coverage world-wide. The threat of force majeure forced us to investigate alternative venues, but since the political/ financial/logistical implications of a venue change are enormous, it was decided to await further events.
Then, just as the situation seemed to calm down, on 22 May 2014 a military coup took place, martial law came into force and a curfew was imposed. Global media sketched a dramatic image of the situation and governments issued negative travel advice for the whole of Thailand.
In addition, we had to deal with concerns about the outbreak of Ebola - we have a large number of African delegates at our congresses. FIP had to deal with many questions, cancellations, and strong pressures to relocate, but we decided not to do so. We completed our preparatory visits in spite of governmental advice against travel to Thailand, and we continued our preparations for the congress according to the plan.
The five key elements of our strategy were:
Stay well informed by actively seeking direct contacts in Bangkok and with WHO rather than merely relying on media reports. One month after the coup we went to Bangkok again, and this let us find out, first-hand, about daily life. Bangkok was peaceful and people were in excellent spirits, and seemed pleased with the situation. Safety was our priority and the Royal Thai Army promised its full support to ensure that our guests felt safe in Thailand.
Assess both situations objectively, again with the help of our local contacts and WHO.
Carefully consider all pros and cons of moving the congress. FIP had to move its 1998 Congress from Cairo, Egypt to The Hague, The Netherlands, because of a terrorist attack in Luxor in November 1997. The implications were enormous, not only logistically and financially, but also on our good relations with Egypt and the entire region. Fortunately we were able to return to Cairo in 2005.
The Local Host Committee established by the Pharmaceutical Association of Thailand
Show loyalty to our stakeholder the Pharmaceutical Association of Thailand. FIP has a strong sense of loyalty towards its stakeholders, and we could not disregard the work of our Pharmaceutical Association of Thailand colleagues, who had invested in our congress in both effort and finance for three years. The income of the Thai pharmacist is too low to afford attending a congress in another country, so for some, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Therefore it was also important that the programme content was not only attractive for an international audience, but also met the needs of the regional attendees. A special session on “Pharmacy in Thailand” was one of the key elements in this approach.
Keep our delegates up-to-date on recent developments. Together with our Thai hosts we continued to monitor the situation closely. Regular updates to participants through our website and structured planning for emergencies were specific tasks, as well as answering all emails, telephone calls and questions via social media transparently and adequately.
Innovation
Taking the initiative to meet personally with the military regime;
Setting up a special “Latest news Bangkok” website;
Creating a contingency plan for possible emergencies.
Challenges
On 22 May 2014 a military coup took place, martial law came into force and a curfew was imposed. Global media sketched a dramatic image of the situation and governments issued negative travel advice for the whole of Thailand. In addition, we were faced with the outbreak of Ebola (we have a large number of African delegates at our congresses).
FIP had to deal with many questions, cancellations, and strong pressures to relocate, but we installed a crisis team in house so that we could monitor developments, provide transparency to our members and prepare for any unexpected emergencies before and during the congress.
Achievements
Congress team pleased at the end of a very successful event
We were pleasantly surprised by the final number of participants. Our previous congress in Dublin in 2013 was very successful, and we had low expectations for Bangkok 204, given the political and healthcare situation, so we adjusted our budget to a maximum of 1500 paying participants.
A total of 2192 was a number we could never have hoped for, and especially the large attendance of Thai pharmacists made this congress so very valuable for our Thai member organisation and all other member organisations in the region.
The programme content was international AND regional enough to appeal to all target groups, and gave the result we were hoping for.
Targets & Statistics
Delegate numbers over the years
What would we do differently?
We handled the situation to the best of our ability and every decision made seemed to be the best at the given time. Should a similar situation present itself again with a future congress, we will definitely be more confident, experienced and even better prepared.
Feedback & Testimonials
"I felt that in many ways this was one of the best FIP congresses that I have attended, from an organizational and educational perspective. I came away from the congress feeling very positive and motivated; that has not always been the case. It was my 28th FIP congress, so I have a good baseline for comparison."
"I know that a huge amount of effort, planning, and attention to detail goes in to the preparation for a congress both centrally at The Hague and through the work of many volunteers, including on the central program committee, sections, SIGs, and FIPEd. All of you are to be congratulated and I thank you for your work and commitment to advancing our profession."
