6th World Congress on Leishmaniasis
Introduction
Dear Colleagues
The WHO ColIaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, Geneva have joined efforts to co-organize the WorldLeish-6 Congress. On behalf of the WorldLeish Committee, it is a great pleasure and privilege to invite you to the WorldLeish-6 Congress to be held in Toledo, Spain, from 16 to 20 May 2017.
Istanbul (1997), Crete (2001), Palermo (2005), Lucknow (2009), and Porto de Galinhas (2013) have brilliantly preceded Toledo during two decades. The Scientific Programme of the upcoming Congress will address issues ranging from molecules to disease control, with the patient as the main focus throughout the congress.The agenda will feature contemporary lectures, hot-topic sessions, and satellite symposia covering the latest developments on leishmaniasis. The educational programme of the Congress will strike a balance between the needs of basic research and clinical issues. We are taking great care in designing a programme that caters to young scientists through fostering scientific exchange, presentations, awards, and social activities.
The cultural programme also promises to be appealing, and will highlight Toledo’s fascinating culture and history. Successively a Roman municipality, the capital of the Visigoth Kingdom, a fortress of the Omeyas Emirate of Cordoba, the capital of Spain under the Emperor Charles V, Toledo is unique. It was appointed in 1986 World Heritage City by UNESCO. The city has made remarkable contributions to humankind, namely, the Councils between the IV and VIII centuries with definitive implications for the history of Spain and Europe; the Toledo School of Translators in the XII and XIII centuries, opening Europe to the values of the Neo–‐ Plato Aristothelism, and to have hosted the dramatic and expressionistic paintings of El Greco (Crete, 1541–‐Toledo, 1614). The Spanish hospitality and cuisine are even more remarkable in the city of Toledo, which is Spain’s gastronomic capital of for 2016. Its close proximity to Madrid facilitates access from the international airport, but also provides many opportunities for pre- or post-congress visits to the capital. Other UNESCO World Heritage cities like Avila, Segovia, Cuenca, or Salamanca are less than 200 km from Toledo. The brand new ‘El Greco Congress Conference Centre’ has all modern facilities and is five minutes from the historical landmarks of Toledo. More than 4000 rooms in all category hotels are at a walking distance to the congress centre, most hotels offer a friendly environment for socializing in the evenings.
The School of Translators was not by chance: for more than two centuries, Toledo offered an environment of peaceful coexistence among Christians, Muslims, and Jews; attracting intellectuals that made the city flourish. Since then, Toledo became known as ‘the city of three cultures’. This year Toledo will continue in this spirit, with the WorldLeish‐6 Congress humbly contributing to a better world by providing an international forum for sharing scientific values, knowledge, and research for the benefit of patients around the world. Indeed, during WorldLeish‐6, Toledo will be true to its multicultural spirit of knowledge and understanding.
Once again, on behalf of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative and of the Organizing Committee, we would like to invite you to WorldLeish-6 Congress. We sincerely believe that you will enjoy both the scientific and cultural aspects of the programme, and the pleasure of springtime in Toledo.
We look forward to personally welcoming you to Toledo in May, 2017!
Chair: Jorge Alvar, Head of Leishmaniasis, DNDi, Switzerland
Co-chair: Javier Moreno, Head of the Unit for Leishmaniasis and Chagas Disease, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain
