Icmart | 16. World Congress on Medical Acapuncture

Dear Colleagues,

It's an honour to welcome you to the ICMART Congress at this wonderful city full of history and celebrate 20 years of scientific acupuncture along with our Turkish colleagues.
Our congress will focus the main subjects related to medical acupuncture. Topics about research, clinical effectiveness and safety are ready for discussion, as well the opportunity to share our experience coming from daily practice. We hope that the exchange of ideas make us stronger and able to move forward to meet the challenges of modern medicine.

Wellcome to Istanbul

Helena Pinto Ferreira

ICMART President

Welcome,

On behalf of the Academic Acupuncture Association I would like to welcome you to the XVI biannual ICMART World Acupuncture Congress held in Istanbul. Twenty years after hosting our initial congress in Istanbul in 1994, we are happy to be able to invite you once again. We were proud of our first success, and we hope you will join us in 2014 in making this another outstanding congress.
Our goal in 2014 will be to bring forth and discuss the most recent developments in acupuncture, revealing its significance to the world through scientific discourse. Acupuncture education in Turkey occurs at the university level, therefore this congress will play an important role to academic institutions throughout the country. The scientific committee is determined to decipher the most cutting-edge scientific presentations in order to bring you up-to-date on the latest developments. Throughout its history Istanbul has played a strategic role in bridging continents. We look forward to seeing in this role once again as we discuss the current and future applications of acupuncture.
On behalf of our association I would like to thank ICMART for giving us the opportunity to hold this important congress, and to all those who have helped us in its preparation and implementation.

Mehmet Fuat Abut

Congress President

Dear Colleagues,

Bridging East and West Istanbul plays an important role in the transfer and exchange of goods as well as of culture, scientific and medical knowledge.
In our modern global world in which interconnections and cross cultural exchange is an essential part of successful interaction Istanbul is the ideal place to meet. The current history of acupuncture and the modern development of Medical Acupuncture are strongly influenced by an active and at the end successful east-west and west-east transfer. Medical Acupuncture now is playing a significant role in the development of an integrative medicine.

ICMART, the International Council of Medical Acupuncture and Related Techniques, is the premier worldwide spokes-organization for Medical Acupuncture. ICMART has played a special role in this process of integration. Over many years, the ICMART congresses have created a platform of dialogue and exchange in numerous important areas, including education, clinical practice and research. All of us have been working actively on this process which is evidenced and documented by the history of ICMART. Beginning in 1983, with a group of dedicated pioneers, ICMART has developed into an international umbrella organization which now includes about 90 medical acupuncture associations worldwide.

The Turkish organizers of this congress, in cooperation with the ICMART Board and the ICMART Scientific Chapter, are preparing an interesting and informative program with clinical as well as scientific lectures, important speakers, workshops and posters, all focused on the aims and goals of Medical Acupuncture and related techniques and its role in modern medicine and health care.

The beauty and the cultural importance of Istanbul with its symbolic places and bridges will surround the conference. Everybody will be invited to share the joyous and exciting atmosphere of this historical and modern ‘acupuncture point’ connecting east and west, which will delight participants and their accompanying friends. There is no better place to meet old and new like-minded people and friends, to exchange ideas and reinforce our commitment to our common international goals of Medical Acupuncture.

Welcome to Istanbul 2014.

Dr.Walburg Maric-Oehler, MD

General Secretary of ICMART