Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Medical Informatics in a United and Healthy Europe

2009; Volume: 17; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5455/aim.2009.17.124-126

1986-5988

Izet Mašić,

Electrical and Electromagnetic Research

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: NONE DECLARED Society of Medical Informatics of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHSMI) became a member of European Federation of Medical Informatics (EFMI) and International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) in 1994, during terrible wartime in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Balkan region. During MIE ‘94 Conference in Lisbon, at my first participation at EFMI Council meeting, idea was born in my mind - to organize one of MIE Conferences in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I had many reasons for that. Candidature of BHSMI for one of MIE conferences to be organized in Sarajevo or any other part of Bosnia and Herzegovina became official in Sent Malo in 2003 at EFMI Council meeting. EFMI Board officially accepted nomination of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina as co-organisers of MIE 2011. Just year after, in 2004, EFMI Board (from which majority are still members of the current Board) visited Sarajevo, spoke with most respectable political, scientific, cultural and other leaders and were assured that Sarajevo can be host one of MIE conferences. In 2005, in Athens, EFMI Council decided that MIE conference will be held in Sarajevo in 2009 (MIE 2009). After that decision, five long years of preparations started in order to organise the conference where participants from almost all medical-informatics community of Europe and the world will gather. Today, we arrived at the point of final preparation and soon realization of this highly rated scientific event, which I sometimes like to name as „Scientific Eurosong“. EFMI Board, Scientific Programme Committee and Local Organizing Committee have put great effort to have this meeting as one of the best organized so far. Did we succeeded in that and did we achieve what we wanted? That is still up to our visitors and MIE 2009 participants to decide. But, let us return to the beginning. In 2003 I suggested that MIE 2009 Conference in Sarajevo should have two slogans: “Medical Informatics in a United and Healthy Europe” and “The Bridge over Troubled Water” - implying that Bosnia and Herzegovina is the center of Balkan region and as such one of the most restless political, economical and cultural areas, and that we can see it as a metaphor or allegory for the “conflict of civilizations and conflict of political interest”. Today, 15 years after, Bosnia and Herzegovina Society of Medical Informatics became one professional scientific association acknowledged by Europe and the world, but unfortunately, only Bosnia and Albania are not part of the “United and Healthy Europe”. We can add more to this paradox - that in Bosnia and Herzegovina - country constantly mentioned at meetings of most important European and World leaders (United Nations) - it is possible to gain and exchange professional and scientific experience with respectable people from Medical informatics and related fields. Many will be fascinated, impressed, even shocked, and maybe they will change their view and possible prejudices about the city and the country of which they heard a lot, but mostly disturbing and related to war and tragedy (from genocide in Srebrenica, to other related - horror like stories heard or read in the media in recent time). At the same time, there is the opportunity to see and feel the spirit and soul of people who lived trough these terrible times and now, almost as after a catharsis, like Scilas and Haribdas, remain proud of their ancesostors who are symbolised by the bogumile stecak (belonging to Bosniaks, Serbs, Croats and Jews) which stands on one of the first MIE 2009 posters and invites you to visit Bosnia and Sarajevo with your hearth and mind opened.