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  WFO Executive Committee, AAO Board of Trustees hold first joint meeting Leaders of the WFO and the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) convened for their first-ever joint meeting during the 107th AAO Annual Session in May 2007 in Seattle, Washington, USA. At the invitation of Dr. Donald Joondeph, the 2006-07 AAO president, the WFO Executive Committee met with the AAO Board of Trustees to discuss ways to improve the quality of orthodontics practiced worldwide. Dr. Joondeph and WFO President Dr. Athanasios E. Athanasiou jointly prepared the agenda for the meeting. “The meeting was fruitful and marked by a great deal of camaraderie,” Dr. Athanasiou said. “It established the basis for greater communication between the two boards, which clearly have many common purposes. The support of the AAO Board of Trustees, through the years of existence of the WFO, has been critical, strong and sincere.” Members of the AAO Board of Trustees discussed the organization’s efforts to assist with the recruitment and retention of faculty; its efforts to retain international members; the new AAO international student member category; and the AAO’s participation in the 100th meeting of the European Orthodontic Society. The WFO Executive Committee members reported on the WFO’s efforts to develop guidelines for postgraduate orthodontic education worldwide; its efforts to retain and grow the WFO membership; communication between national and regional orthodontic boards; and promotion of the 7th International Orthodontic Congress, which will be held Feb. 6-9, 2010, in Sydney, Australia. "Enhancing relations with related orthodontic and health-care organizations is one of the critical issues of the AAO,” Dr. Joondeph said. “Approximately 18 percent of the AAO membership is comprised of international members. The recent meeting with the WFO Executive Committee was an excellent opportunity to discuss issues that impact both organizations and further cement our outstanding working relationship." |