4th ISPRM World Congress – Seoul

Congress President: Prof. Onder Kayhan (Turkey)

The 5th ISPRM World Congress was held in Istanbul, Turkey in June 13-17, 2009, with 85 participant countries, and approximately 3,000 registrants.

Congress President: Prof. Chang Il Park (Korea)

The 4th World Congress of ISPRM was held on June 10-14 in Seoul, Korea successfully. A total of 2,337 participants from 75 countries joined the meeting (including 142 accompanying persons and 195 exhibitors). Especially, many participants from underdeveloped or developing countries (427 participants from 31 countries) joined in, who were offered a discounted registration fee. The participants of the World Congress of ISPRM were growing from approximately 1,200 participants at the 1st World Congress of ISPRM held in Amsterdam.

A total of 190 world-renowned invited speakers from 40 countries gave the fruitful lectures on one plenary session, two pre-congress meetings, forty four parallel sessions, forty one oral paper sessions, and thirteen workshops and etc. A total of 1,192 abstracts from 56 countries were submitted. 157 participants from 17 underdeveloped or developing countries joined in as oral or poster presenters with the financial support from the Organizing Committee and International Education Trust Fund of ISPRM. A total of 1,089 presentations (205 oral paper and 884 posters) were done.

Among many scientific sessions, the Meet the Editor Session was very helpful for active young scientists, and thirteen workshops were very fruitful to share new techniques and knowledge with 715 participants. In addition to the official ISPRM meeting, the AOSPRM meeting, the AAP Education meeting, and the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine meeting were also held during the World Congress.

The various social programs gave an opportunity to feel the spirit of Korea. Among many social programs, the Korean traditional fashion show in the welcome reception was fantastic and unforgettable. The talent show was very exotic and helped to cherish real friendship. 65 companies participated in this congress as sponsors & exhibitors. Especially 15 companies sponsored us as main official sponsors. The event was an overwhelming success. We were proud to offer cutting-edge educational programs to physiatrists from around the world who see the ISPRM as their premier source of continuing education and networking opportunities. This made a significant contribution in the advancement of rehabilitation medicine.