World Parkinson Congress
The World Parkinson Congress, often referred to as the WPC, is a non-religious, non-political, and non-profit making organization concerned with the health and welfare of people living with Parkinson's disease (PD) and their families and caregivers. Founded in 2004, the WPC aims to bring the Parkinson's community together, under one roof, to allow for cross-pollination of community leaders to create opportunities to generate more robust ideas around the science and care of Parkinson's. The WPC Inc. has nearly 170 Organizational Partners from around the world.
There is no other International meeting focussed just on Parkinson's disease, nor is there an international format that looks at Parkinson's science and care that also invites people with Parkinson's to have a seat at the table.
Each World Parkinson Congress provides a unique forum for partnership between international patient and neurological organizations, the pharmaceutical industry. The 1st World Parkinson Congress - WPC 2006, attracted more than 3,150 delegates from nearly 60 countries; the WPC 2010 had more than 3,000; WPC 2013 had more than 3,300 delegates. Those delegates included a unique mix of : health professionals and researchers; 1100 people with Parkinson's, care partners and guests; and members of press. WPC 2013 had more than 3,300 delegates and the WPC 2016 in Portland, Oregon had over 4,550 delegates from 65 countries. Our latest congress took place in Kyoto, Japan in June, 2019 which attracted 2,777 delegates from 60 countries to hear 180 speakers over the course of four days.
Plans are now underway for the 6th World Parkinson Congress (WPC 2022), to be held in Barcelona, Spain from June 7 – 10, 2022.
WPC launched the WPC Blog in April 2017. An inclusive site with posts from a wide range of experts across the globe who research, treat, and live with Parkinson's disease. http://www.WorldPDCongress.org
Board of Directors
President:
Marie-Françoise Chesselet, MD, PhD
Vice President:
Roger Barker, BA, MBBS, PhD, MRCP, FMedSci
Secretary:
Ryosuke Takahashi MD, PhD
Treasurer:
Rajesh Pahwa, MD
Directors:
Patrik Brundin, MD, PhD
Etienne Hirsch, PhD
Alice Nieuwboer, PhD, PT
Linda Olson, MD, FACR
A. Jon Stoessl, CM, MD, FRCPC, FCAHS
Malú G. Tansey, PhD
Executive Director:
Elizabeth Pollard, MA
President Emeritus & Founder:
Stanley Fahn, MD
Past Presidents:
Stanley Fahn, MD (2004 - 2013)
Serge Przedborski, MD, PhD (2013-2016)
A. Jon Stoessl, CM, MD, FRCPC, FCAHS (2016-2019)