Just a quick note to everyone on the Openhealth list know that the OSCHA 2001 meeting in London last week was a tremendous success. Over 80 people attended the meeting, the presentations and panel discussions were very informative and most importantly there was lots of interaction among the participants. On behalf of the organizing committee I would like to express a very big thank you to the NHS IA event team Carole Line and Gail Froy who did an outstanding job looking after all the administrative details of staging the conference. Their hard work made this a truely professional event. I would also like to thank Nigel Bell and Colin Smith of the NHS IA for their financial and "moral" support. I would not be exaggerating to say that value of the NHS's support for this conference to the advancement of open source in health care is immeasureable. I would like to especially thank the speakers for their informative and entertaining presentations. The quality was top notch with several people commenting that OSHCA had greatly exceeded their expectations. I would also like to take this opportunity to personally thank the organizing committee for their hard work and creativity in selecting and enticing speakers to participate in the conference. The agenda (www.oshca.org/agenda.html) was packed with interesting and informative talks and sessions. We were even able to add additional speakers "on the fly" to the parallel track during the two days as there were a number of volunteers who offered to give presentations during the two days. I will report on the outcome of the OSHCA business meeting in a separate email, but I want let everyone know that thanks to Mike McCoy of UCLA, we have an offer to help host the next meeting. This news received a resounding round of applause at the meeting and I am sure will recieve a very loud virtual applause on this list too. I will be sending out a call for volunteers to help organize the next meeting in the OSHCA business meeting report....anyone who doesn't want to wait can send me an email and I will add them to the list. Lastly, I cannot end this email without offering my heartfelt prayers and condolences to my American neighbours. My head and heart are heavy and spinning with every emotion imaginable watching images of today's events in New York and Washington.....I was at my son's school this morning when I first heard the tragic news. It struck me that the evil behind these atrocities is fed by many of the same inequalities that our community and many others are working to eliminate, all the more important to hold on to the vision and make it a reality. Sincerely, Joseph Chair, OSHCA Organizing Committee ------- Joseph Dal Molin e-cology corporation 1.416.232.1206 Joseph ------- Joseph Dal Molin e-cology corporation 1.416.232.1206
