Dear colleagues

Time really does fly when you're having fun: I'm writing my third message since becoming EMWA President in May!

The 37th EMWA Conference in Barcelona was an exciting event in a great location. We welcomed 102 new members, and 240 delegates from 19 countries attended the most workshops ever included in an Autumn EMWA conference (28), most of which were overbooked. The meeting was yet another success thanks to the (mostly) obscure work of EMWA's Head Office, run by Kingston Smith Association Management, together with the voluntary contribution of workshop leaders and Executive Committee members. The opening session with Inga Abed and Nacho Mbaeliachi of the EMA was the first step in forming a collaboration that EMWA members have desired for a long time, something that we intend to build on. The networking reception meeting with representatives of the Spanish Medical Writers Association, Mediterranean Editors and Translators, and Tremédica, as well as articles on the web sites of these organisations, was our first attempt to bring EMWA into the local writing environment. The number of professional partners supporting EMWA at conferences is continuously increasing, too.

But EMWA is not only conferences. EMWA development is continuing according with priorities stated and updated through time by ECs. Our good economic performance will allow us to make some investments for an even brighter future:

The next Spring EMWA congress will be in Budapest in May, with a full day symposium dedicated to the EMA Transparency Act, which will become effective at the beginning of 2014. The collaboration has already been fruitful, as top-level speakers are expected to discuss the impact of this new legislation on the disclosure of clinical trials results.

EMWA is an organisation of medical writers who volunteer their time to provide all members what they need to improve in their profession. Those who benefit most from EMWA are the motivated individuals who volunteer to serve on the Executive Committee or board, teach workshops, or provide other year-round activities, like helping with the journal, website, or social media. Volunteering brings you into contact with a large network of experts in the field of medical writing, helps develop and demonstrate leadership skills, and provides the opportunity to share and exchange professional knowledge.

Our Executive Committee is working very well together. To keep growing our association and support different activities, we have been involving a growing number of volunteers. Being a member of the Executive Committee, in particular, gives you excellent opportunities for career advancement, but even other roles can help and can give back a substantial benefit. Voting for Executive Committee positions will take place before the May conference via an online voting system. If you would like to find out more about joining the Executive Committee, check out the job descriptions at http://www.emwa.org/EMWA-Officers.html. For those of you who don't feel ready to be a member of the Executive Committee but are interested in volunteering in some way, send an email to info@emwa.org to let us know.

The contribution of all members is fundamental to reaching our objectives, so we look forward to hearing from many EMWA members interested in volunteering for the Executive Committee or other roles!

Last but not least, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and healthy Christmas and the 2014 you're dreaming of.

Ciao

Andrea