2012 Updates

Report on 2012 World Congress - July, 2012

I would like to take this opportunity to provide an update on the 2012 IASSID World Congress, which took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada from July 9-14.

The Congress was very successful, with approximately 800 delegates from around the world in attendance, and more than a dozen plenary speakers.More than 250 concurrent symposia featuring approximately 700 speakers took place across 12 tracks,and scholars also made 120 poster presentations. The net result was a thought-provoking Congress that brought to light a great deal of new research in the field of intellectual disabilities, and I believe the event was a fitting follow-up to the 2008 Cape Town Congress.

I would like to thank everyone who participated in the Congress - as delegates, presenters, moderators, plenary speakers, and as volunteers. I appreciate your commitment to IASSID, and to people worldwide with intellectual disabilities.

I would also like to update you on a couple of other developments from the Congress. At the Council meeting, the name of the organization was changed to the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD). This is a positive development, and one that will more inclusively reflect the work of members throughout the organization.

Also at the Council meeting, a new Executive was elected:

• Glynis Murphy, Past President
• Vianne Timmons, President
• Helene Ouellete-Kuntz, Secretary
• Keith McVilly, Treasurer
• Phil Davidson, President-Elect

I would like to extend particular thanks to Glynis Murphy for her work as President over the past four years.

Those of you who attended the opening ceremonies of the Congress will recall that Michael Bach, Executive Director of the Canadian Association for Community Living, gave a heartfelt address related to the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in all aspects of society. Michael has since expressed an interest in creating an Inclusive Education SIRG, and I would encourage anyone who is interested in participating in such a SIRG to let me know at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thank you once again for your involvement in IASSIDD, and I hope to see you at future conferences. The Asia-Pacific Regional Conference will take place in Tokyo, Japan in August 2013, the European Regional Conference will take place in Vienna, Austria in 2014, and the next World Congress will be in Melbourne, Australia in 2016. Be sure to mark your calendars!

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Vianne Timmons
President, IASSIDD