{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.019440406976744186, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0029069767441860465, 'mean_word_length': 4.944924406047516, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
The 13th World Congress of Psychiatry, Cairo 2005: perspectives from the Secretariat.

The Cairo World Congress was a truly remarkable one, and those who experienced the vibrant science, the ancient and modern of Egypt, and the vigorous election process, will have understood that the WPA is not only alive, but also kicking. 
 
The Opening Ceremony, presided by Ahmed Okasha, was followed by a buffet in the Chinese Garden of the Congress Centre, where delegates were entertained by music and dance from Pharaonic times. The President's plenary lecture "Mental disorders and care in Egyptian history: from pharaonic to islamic eras" was a scholarly reminder to those who were not fully aware of the ingenuity of this remarkable civilization. 
 
The new WPA President (Juan Enrique Mezzich) delivered an inspiring plenary lecture entitled "Science and humanism; the double helix of psychiatry". The WPA is leading a more total approach to the understanding of mental disorders, and the training of mental health professionals. 
 
The Egyptian Psychiatric Association had worked with great energy to see that the local arrangements, including transport in rush hour, worked as smoothly as possible, and was a most generous host. 
 
This was the first World Congress to be held in Africa, an event which fulfilled the dreams of many, and thwarted those who may have wished otherwise. Almost 6,000 psychiatrists attended from across the globe and particularly notable were the numbers of younger psychiatrists from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. 
 
The Secretary General had little time to admire the scenery or, on this occasion, the ancient history, as there were meetings of the old and new Executive Committee, the old and new Board, as well as the Council and other Operational Committees. A record number of Member Societies, 107 of 129, were represented in the General Assembly. 
 
It would seem that the energy from young psychiatrists, many of whom are active in research and audit, is vitalising WPA and keeping its older members young at heart. 
 
The General Assembly was described as one of the best organised in the history of WPA, although a more contemporary voting procedure needs to be considered. This success at a time of transition of the Secretariat occurred through the strenuous efforts of administrators in New York, Geneva and Keele - helped a little by the Secretary General and our local hosts! Their commitment, nerve and sheer hard work was self evident and proportional to their considerable responsibilities. We will learn in future to make sure that the office environment for the administrators and delegates is more congenial, and that careful consideration is given to the possibility of electronic voting. 
 
The General Assembly endorsed the Cairo Declaration on Mass Violence and Mental Health, established Task Forces on Practical and Ethical Guidelines for Elections, and on Causes and Consequences of Brain Drain, as well as approving several important consensus statements. 
 
The formal minutes of the General Assembly are being agreed and will be placed on the WPA website. 
 
Nine new Member Societies joined the WPA: the Algerian Psychiatric Association, the Ethiopian Psychiatric Association, the Irish College of Psychiatrists, the League of Mental Health from Republic of Moldova, the Mongolian Mental Health Association, the Palestinian Psychiatric Association, the Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists, the Psychiatric Association of Turkey, and the Association of Psychiatrists of Uzbekistan. 
 
The Saudi Arabian Psychiatric Association was welcomed as an ad-hoc Member Society. 
 
The new Affiliated Associations are: the African Association of Psychiatrists and Allied Professions, the Indo-Australasian Psychiatry Association and the Australasian South Asian Psychiatry Forum, the Mental Health Care Organisation of Uganda, the Psychiatric Association for Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). 
 
The Assembly gave a standing ovation to the President Ahmed Okasha at the end of his term of office, acknowledged fully the major contributions of retiring Executive Committee members (George Christodoulou and Roger Montenegro) and applauded enthusiastically the election of the new President Elect Mario Maj, as well as those of the new Secretary for Publications Helen Herrman, the new Secretary for Sections Miguel Jorge, and the new Secretary for Education Allan Tasman. 
 
The new President Juan Enrique Mezzich was inducted and then introduced the new Executive Committee and the new Board. He gave an inspiring vision for the next three years with an emphasis on institutional consolidation and the promotion of integrative psychiatry - a psychiatry for the person. 
 
The past and present had therefore met in Cairo at the crossroads of the world, and many delegates left Egypt with a greater sense of international solidarity, as members from small societies enriched those from larger organisations. At the Congress the Asian Federation of Psychiatry was launched and the energy of our colleagues in Asia was tangible. 
 
The human resources and proceedings of this World Congress, the first held in Cairo on the Nile, may it is hoped now travel vigorously up-river (like a Scottish salmon) to that culturally rich sub-Saharan region of Africa where African psychiatry and psychiatrists (conspicuous at the Congress) also flourish, and yet patient care is still so much in jeopardy.