But everything in the Universe starts - goes on - and comes to its logical final, according to the Chinese tradition...

And our meetings - too... And you suddenly find yourself a bit confused and sad, as one, and very important part of your professional life is just passing away...

But is there not the same things going round us in our daily life? According to Chinese life cycles, there will be no spring without winter, and no summer without spring...

But then, unfortunatly, comes winter, and seems that everything comes to the end and there will be no spring again... But!
'Every cloud has its silver lining...' - they used to say in England. And we hope, that just only one cycle of your life span was over, and, hope, not the last!

I know, our life starts, goes on and 'our train shall take its start' for another, maybe more interesting, life. And this is only a question of time, when we shall say to one another - 'Goodbye my Friend!', and - 'See you soon!'...

There will be new and more congresses in the future, with or without me, but I know, there will remain something very special after this, very special one. Some deep traces will remain in our hearts... But the heart is the residence of soul, our Shen... Just according to Chinese tradition...

This is why I would like to say to all of you, my dear Friends - welcome to Budapest, to see your Colleagues and newcomers! Enjoy our life together!

Prof. Nickolay Nickolaev ICMART President

Message from the ICMART General Secretary:

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The challenges we face in acupuncture are of many kinds. It is an ancient technique, born in a remarkable civilization and culture, more than 2000 years ago. It had to recently go through the reorganization of its theoretical structure in China, the incorporation, whether justified or not, into the TCM system. When it went beyond the boundaries of the Far East it met with the suspicions and the resistance of the scientific world, to which it has been trying to adapt, and presented great obstacles in terminology, theory and methodology. The struggle with our modern thinking processes and a new vision of man makes these challenges all the more difficult, but also exciting and interesting.

The many facets of the acupuncture world stimulate our thoughts, our efforts to understand, to integrate and to incorporate them in our medical practice, in our research, in our beliefs. The dispersed attempts to harmonize so many aspects are assembled during our Congresses, where practitioners, thinkers, researchers, clinicians meet to exchange their views.

This will happen in Budapest, maybe better than ever. Acupuncture and its related techniques will be discussed, defended, adjusted. New techniques will be presented and old ones explained. The glow of science will try to enlighten the obscure, discard the unnecessary, and put forward the useful.

These happenings are very important for the world of acupuncture and for the health of ICMART. We are going to celebrate in Budapest the 25th anniversary of ICMART which was founded in Vienna, 1983. If you have participated in the life of ICMART you must be there for this symbolical event, proof also of the solidity and success of our association.

We shall never stop fighting for, defending and promoting acupuncture, as well as using modern techniques, instruments and knowledge to appreciate and estimate the value of acupuncture.

Long live ICMART!
Long live Acupuncture!
See you in Budapest,
Acupuncturally yours,

Baron Beyens ICMART General Secretary

Message from the Congress and Symposium Co-Chair:

Dear Colleagues and Friends of Acupuncture,

In order to cope with the problems of everyday life and the fatigue caused by our responsible work, we need to find something in our lives that causes us joy. For many of us the source of our joy and delight, in addition to our medical vocation, is the science of acupuncture, the special gem of TCM. It is easier to avoid the often cited "burn-out syndrome" if we are able to experience love and joy. An excellent opportunity to do so is the next port-of-call of the ICMART ship, the World Congress to be held in Budapest from October 10-12, 2008.

For more than twenty years I have been traveling with this ship and have been an active participant at the congresses. It is always a delight for me to meet up with old friends, and to become acquainted with new ones too, at the conferences with their professional highlights.

Those who have been attending ICMART congresses for some years now will remember the Sixth World Congress held in Budapest in 1992. (It was quite a long time ago... Since then, children have grown up, and some colleagues have sadly passed away...) People continued to mention the 1992 congress for many years, because it was an outstanding success.

From October 10-12, 2008 - sixteen years after the last conference in Budapest - the Hungarian Medical Acupuncture Association of Hungary will again host the ICMART World Congress. We feel ourselves duty-bound to offer you a similarly pleasant experience in 2008. This year, however, the event will be enhanced by the fact that we shall be celebrating the 25th anniversary of ICMART's foundation. The elegant building of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences will serve as the venue for ICMART's 25th anniversary celebrations, in itself an expression of Hungary's recognition of our science in line with the official Hungarian declaration of 1997.

We trust that those of you who come to Budapest and experience its beautiful location and fine art nouveau architecture will return home with unforgettable memories. In addition to a series of excellent lectures by professional experts from around the world, there will also be opportunities for conference participants and their companions to enjoy the famous Hungarian hospitality and culinary specialties, as well as to see the sights of the city. The ICMART award, the Antal LANER life's work memorial prize, will be presented to those who have achieved excellence.

Dear Colleagues from around the world, come and take part in this great event, enjoy the experience, and acquire new knowledge, so that in your everyday lives you can assist your patients with renewed strength. On behalf of the members of the Organizing Committee, I guarantee you a pleasant and worthwhile stay in Budapest, on a hopefully beautiful autumn weekend.

Prof. Gabriella Hegyi MD.PhD. co-chair of ICMART XIII