January, 2001

The Organizing Committee takes great pleasure in inviting you to the 3rd World Congress on the Aging Male which will be held in Berlin, Germany, February 7-10, 2002.

The 3rd Congress will be a special occasion since the year 2002 marks the 20th anniversary of the World Assembly on Aging adopting the Vienna International Plan of Action on Aging. This plan was subsequently endorsed by the United Nations' general Assembly. It was the first policy document on aging to be adopted by international concensus and aimed to strengthen the capacity of governments and civil society to respond to the needs of aging populations while also promoting the older person as a vital resource for all societies.

Despite the enormous medical progress during the past few decades, the last years of life are still accompanied by increasing ill health and disability. The ability to maintain independent living for as long as possible is a crucial factor of health and aging.
Therefore, the promotion of healthy aging and the prevention of disability in all older people must assume a central role in medical research and medical practice as well as in the formulation of national health and social policies. Effective programs promoting healthy aging will ensure a more efficient use of health and social services and improve the quality of life in older persons by enabling them to remain independent and productive.

In addition, interventions such as hormone replacement therapy, as well as other modifications of lifestyle, including nutrition and exercise, may alleviate the debilitating conditions by preventing the preventable and delaying the inevitable. Evidence is available that such intervention may slow the progress of disease in women. There is an urgent need to obtain such information for men.

In light of this, public awareness of medical knowledge needs to be increased and basic, clinical, socio-economic and epidemiological research intensified. This will necessitate a quantum leap in multi-disciplinary and internationally coordinated research efforts. Such efforts should be supported by the establishment of new partners between inter-governmental, governmental, industrial and voluntary sectors. All these considerations will be addressed by this 3rd World Congress on the Aging Male.

This Congress is intended for practitioners, experts and researchers of medical, behavioral and social sciences as well as for providers of services and technologies for the aging population.

I am looking forward to welcoming you to Berlin in the year 2002 at what promises to be a most stimulating and enjoyable event.

Prof. Bruno Lunenfeld, MD.; FRCOG. FACOG (hon.)
President