History of PHA's International Commitment
At the end of its conference in June 2000 in Chicago, PHA called its first meeting of international attendees. Many had already left but the meeting between the PHA board and about a dozen international registrants initiated the formation of new relationships marked by continuing contact. Following that conference, in 2001 both PHA UK and PHA Israel were formed and held their first conferences.
As PHA organized its 2002 conference, greater attention was taken to encouraging the possibilities for international cooperation. With their registration confirmation, all non-U.S. attendees were invited to an international planning session. Over 80 people attended from nations in Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, as well as New Zealand and Australia. The beginnings of a cooperative strategy were laid out, which recognized that PHA, as the largest and oldest PH organization, had a special role to play in coordinating and fostering the growth of the international PH community. PHA accepted the challenge and agreed to create an “international desk” to help coordinate international cooperation. This challenge was fulfilled in 2004 with the support of the Medtronic Foundation and the hiring of an International Program Associate.
At the 2004, 2006, and 2008 Conferences, PHA expanded the international attendee meeting to two separate sessions instead of one. This included an exclusive reception for all international attendees, as well as an information and idea-sharing session. The conversations at these meetings again stressed the importance of communication and information sharing. With an ever-growing number of international attendees at Conference, these gatherings hold the promise for progress against PH at home and around the world. |
