Last week the General Assembly of the European Traditional Chinese Medicine Association (ETCMA) was held in Porto, Portugal, where acupuncture is a regulated profession. There was a good turnout of members as usual for this two day event. It was a great opportunity for the different TCM member organisations to get together and discuss important issues that affect them throughout Europe.
The Executive Committee gave reports for the year, and it was so interesting to see how much work the ETCMA are doing on our behalf. Yair Maimon, as president has been liaising and working with many organisations throughout the world and this year had a very successful trip to Australia where acupuncture is fully regulated. Yair is now focusing on how we can protect our title.
Advocacy is strong in the ETCMA and Adrianne Waldt attends events at the European Parliament by EUROCAM, WHO and Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Health (TCIH) sharing evidence-based solutions and explaining the practical benefits of applying TCIH. We may not be in the EU anymore but what happens here is still to our advantage – getting our voice heard in a wider community. The laws across Europe vary so much that in some countries you have to be a medical doctor to practice while some countries have full integration.
(L-R: Yair Maimon - President ETCMA, Adrianne Wald - Advocacy ETCMA, Ricardo Teixeira - Vice President ETCMA)
This year, education standards have been high on the agenda, and getting core competencies accepted in schools throughout Europe has been a goal that Benjamin Saez is aiming for. By setting high standards we can become stronger when talking to the authorities. There was a workshop to this effect and all members were very engaged in this topic.
Susan Evans, BAcC Board member, also Head of Governance at the ETCMA held a workshop on governance, specifically how to make a risk register.
All the organisations had a chance to give a small presentation to share information about how TCM works in their country. Our own Ian Appleyard gave a presentation about the BAcC.
Head of Communications, Aram Akopyan, told us that The World Acupuncture Awareness Day (WAAD) campaign in 2023 achieved a truly global impact, garnering support from more than 20 major global associations and organisations actively involved in promoting 16 November as World Acupuncture Day.
Coffee breaks and meal times are always noisy affairs with catching up and general sharing, and this year was no exception. (L-R: Benjamin Saez – Education, Aram Akopyan – Head of Comms)
The BAcC are viewed as the ‘gold standard’ organisation throughout Europe and shares many aspects of work to help smaller organisations achieve goals.
The ETCMA work on our behalf raising standards, garnering global support, and generally keeping TCM at the forefront of healthcare.
Listen to Ian Appleyard’s update here:
For more information on Cost Action click here. Read last month’s Linkedin post to hear more about Ian’s latest Cost Action meeting.
Read Susan’s previous ETCMA blog here.
By Susan Evans
BAcC Governing Board Practitioner Director, also Head of Governance at ETCMA
and Ian Appleyard
BAcC Research and Policy Manager
