Presidents’ Welcome
Dear Delegates,
It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the Fifth Mediterranean Emergency Medicine Congress (MEMC V) in beautiful Valencia, Spain. This biennial conference represents a successful collaboration between the European Society for Emergency Medicine (EuSEM), the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) and - this year - Sociedad Española de Medicina de Urgencias y Emergencias (SEMES).
You will recall the remarkable success of our prior conferences in Stresa, Italy; Sitges, Spain; Nice, France; and Sorrento, Italy. The number of attendees and represented nations has grown. We anticipate 1,500 emergency medicine specialists representing more than 75 countries will converge in Valencia.
We have targeted the Mediterranean basin because it is the site of the Island of Kos, which was home to the master physician Hippocrates, widely regarded as the father of Western medicine. The physicians’ guild from the Island of Kos created one of the earliest teaching units, the Asklipeion, with an excellent library and formal apprentices and some of the first medical schools were established in Salerno, Sicily and in Montpellier.
If you are visiting Valencia for the first time or you’ve heard about this great city, the first thing that will catch your attention is the incredible light that reaches every corner, the great weather that lasts all year long, and the friendly nature of its people. Valencia may be best known for Las Fallas, the March festival that culminates with the simultaneous festive burning of more than 750 giant papier-mâché statues. But it’s also known as home to paella valenciana, traditional Valencian ceramics, La Tomatina (an annual tomato fight in the nearby town of Buñol during August), and the striking new architecture of the City of Arts and Sciences designed by native son, architect Santiago Calatrava.
But what might surprise you even more is Valencia’s incredible diversity. As you move from one area of the city to another, you will be surrounded by urban landscapes so different from one another that you might believe you’re in a different city altogether.
The original Latin name of the city was Valentia, meaning “strength”, “valour”, the city being named for the roman practice of recognizing the valour of former Roman soldiers after a war.
This collaboration between AAEM, EuSEM and SEMES promotes the specialty of emergency medicine and offers a wonderful opportunity for academic and scientific exchange. We have invited world-class speakers, researchers, and educators who will give outstanding lectures, discuss clinical cases, and moderate several hundred abstract and poster presentations. We invite you to contribute to the success of the conference by sharing research findings and by ensuring that you attend and participate in the wide range of scientific sessions and social events.
