My first memories of the International Forum are very literal heart-in-mouth moments. It was small, uncertain, and deeply human. We invited people to submit posters for the first gathering in London in 1996, peer reviewed them, and I remember sitting at my parents’ kitchen table, going through the reviews, wondering whether enough would come in and whether anyone would care. Around 200 did. At the time, it felt enormous. Looking back, it marked the beginning of something that both reflected what was happening in healthcare and quietly helped to shape it. Fiona Moss CBE Former director of medical and dental education commissioning for London deanery, Royal Society of Medicine, founding editor, Quality & Safety in Healthcare (now BMJ Quality & Safety ), UK The ongoing relationship with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) brought me to the first International Forum in London in 1996. Each year until my retirement in 2011, the conference gave me fresh inspiration, new hope, renewed strategy, practical tools, and many warm professional contacts. For me, it is very special and stimulating to see that in 1996 I was the only participant from my country, and that over the next 30 years this grew to 400–500 participants each year from the Netherlands. Improving quality and safety in healthcare has never been more necessary or more rewarding. Wim Schellekens Former chief medical officer, Reinier de Graaf Gasthuis, Delft, former national lead for hospital quality improvement in the Netherlands, former International Forum strategic advisory board member The International Forum is a wonderful place to share ideas with colleagues who work in different health systems. Together, we learn both to deliver better care but also to reposition “caring” at the heart of our work. I always find it inspiring and fun that each gathering has a distinct national character while consistently reminding participants how much they share in common. We are not cogs in a machine. We are humans who harness our individual passions and expertise to make a better world. The conference is a microcosm – even in the hardest of times – of how good we can be. Kamran Abbasi FRCP Edin Lon Editor in chief, The BMJ
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