AAO-WFO International Presidents' Breakfast was held May 6, 2001, in Toronto

An early morning gathering in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, gave international orthodontic leaders the opportunity to meet their colleagues from around the world. Presidents of numerous orthodontic organizations attended the AAO-WFO International Presidents' Breakfast May 6 during the 101st AAO Annual Session. The attendees represented more than 35 countries.

WFO President Dr. Lee Graber welcomed the assembled fellows of the WFO and introduced Dr. Michael Rennert, outgoing president of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO). Dr. Rennert's greeting focused on the one world of orthodontics.

"The WFO helps achieve service to the patients," Dr. Rennert said. "The world is small; orthodontists need to be prepared for globalization."

Following an introduction of those present, WFO Secretary-General Dr. William DeKock presented a report on the WFO's finances, noting that the "WFO will soon be completely and fully on its own as an organization." The WFO will achieve this goal by the end of its 2001 fiscal year (December 31, 2001).

Dr. Olivier Mauchamp of Grenoble, France, presented information regarding the upcoming 6th International Orthodontic Congress and 3rd Meeting of the WFO. Please see the related article on page 2.

Dr. Graber followed this presentation with information on a new member service - an online directory of the WFO fellows. This directory is now accessible on the WFO Web site. Please refer to the article on this page for more information. Dr. DeKock also introduced a new Web service for international editors of orthodontic journals (see the article on page 3).

"The feedback from those attending this function is always positive; positive in thanks to the AAO for its gracious reception and to the WFO for the efforts we make throughout the year," Dr. Graber said. "As leaders in their respective countries, they often mention the organizational help we provide, the strong orthodontic educational requirements for the WFO fellowship, as well as some of the more recent additions to individual membership benefits. On a personal basis, I appreciated all those who came up and were thankful for all the work provided by the volunteer leaders on the WFO Executive Committee."

The next AAO-WFO International Presidents' Breakfast will be held during the 102nd AAO Annual Session, which will begin May 3, 2002, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.