Dear Colleagues,

We had a wonderful annual meeting at Vancouver in September 2005. I greatly appreciate the dedicated efforts that the organizing committee and all participants put into making the meeting a success. Many thanks for celebrating my election as president during the Gala Dinner. This event was the most honorable moment in my life.

The ISPN has developed successfully over the past 33 years. I firmly believe that this could not have been achieved if it were not for the tireless efforts of many excellent former presidents, executive board members and other members of the society. Therefore, I feel a sense of burden in filling such big shoes. Over the course of my year as president and in line with our society’s mission, I will do my best to enhance scientific exchange, education, international cooperation and friendship. In fact, I feel very lucky to have had opportunities to learn Pediatric Neurosurgery from my great teacher, Professor Hun-Jae Lee and the 3H in Toronto (Drs. Hoffman, Hendrick, Humphreys). Now it is our responsibility to return our experiences and knowledge to younger doctors who are the future of Pediatric Neurosurgery.

I am fortunate to work with excellent executive board members who are fulfilling their duties in their respective fields. Three ISPN courses have been planned. The first, which took place in early November of 2005 at New Delhi, India, was a big success. The second course will be held in Havanna, Cuba from July 15-17, 2006. And, the third course is scheduled to be held in Shanghai, China from November 3-5, 2006.

Our next annual meeting is planned to be held at the Grand Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan from September 10-14. It will be organized by Dr. Tai-Tong Wong as Congress President. Personally I will be busy preparing the Asia Pacific Advanced Course in Pediatric Neurosurgery in Seoul, which will be held from November 6-10, 2006.

I look forward to seeing you all once again in Taipei for our annual meeting.

Joong-Uhn Choi

President, ISPN