Dear ISB Community,
It is an honour to have been elected as ISB President and to be given the opportunity to reach out to the society’s membership with this blog. Thank you all for putting your trust in me! I will do my utmost to help continue the success of ISB and am really looking forward to the next two years.
I would like to start off with thanking the organising committee of the ISB Congress in Calgary from the 31 July – 4 August for putting on a fantastic, stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable event. A special mention must be made of the smooth manner in which 2200 delegates were taken care of and accommodated in the presentation rooms and when this was difficult were given the option of live screening of the presentations. This was a clear success. It was especially enjoyable when the audience in the live screening rooms started applauding the streamed presenters! I am sure that many of you were there and agree. The breadth of topics covered by the excellent keynote lecturers and the scientific sessions once again highlighted the scope that ISB represents. So, once again thank you Walter Herzog, Sandro Nigg, Brent Edwards and the many, many people that helped you for the fantastic meeting.
As a member of the organising group for the next ISB Congress in Stockholm 2021, I realise that the previous events are a hard act to follow, but this provides a great stimulus to ensure that Stockholm will also become a huge success. We are looking forward to welcoming you to our beautiful city in a couple of years time!
As president there are a number of issues I am looking forward to working with together with the strong Council you have elected. A fundamental aim is to improve and update the steering documents of the ISB Council to ensure they ensure adaptation to present changes in the world and reflect the purposes of the ISB. It is also of importance that we maintain the international strength of the society and for this purpose a South American and an Asian representative have been appointed to Council to facilitate processes for strengthening biomechanics in these continents.
With the acceptance of the Swedish Society of Biomechanics at the Annual General Meeting in Calgary, the ISB now has 22 affiliated societies, nearly all of which represent national societies. More national societies are strongly encouraged to consider applying for affiliated status, for which ISB provides many benefits. As a final, and highly prioritised area, it is important that the spirit of the Advancing Women in Biomechanics event organised in Calgary be strengthened and continued so that we can all be proud of being members of an inclusive, equal and fair society.
As much as I am proud to be your new president, I am sure I can speak for all of us in saying I am even more proud to be part of the exciting activity provided by the ISB and the bright future the society has!
Cheers,
Toni