Special supplement | Reflections
I co-chaired the local organising committee for the second Singapore Forum in 2016. What stays with me most are not the sessions but the people: speakers, colleagues from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and BMJ Group, organising committee members, and the attendees who brought the International Forum to life. Many of the friendships formed then endure today. When Singapore hosted the conference again last year, it was reassuring to draw on that same network of trusted colleagues and friends. It is people who make quality improvement possible and sustain it over time. Lee Chien Earn Deputy group chief executive officer, Regional Health System, SingHealth, Singapore During a keynote at the International Forum, Paris 2014, with my colleague Mats Bojestig, a Swedish healthcare leader, we argued that improvement must extend beyond individual projects to whole system change. To illustrate the point, we jumped off the stage, only realising mid air that the drop was greater than expected. The sudden silence in the room reinforced the message: improvement requires courage and a willingness to step forward before the ground feels secure. Another defining moment came in 2010, when the International Forum was held in Nice, France, during the week European airspace closed because of volcanic ash. Many participants were unable to travel, yet hundreds arrived by train, car, or bicycle. Rather than cancel, the programme adapted, using early satellite links to enable remote contributions. It demonstrated how the International Forum responds to disruption by sustaining learning and connection. Göran Henriks Senior strategic advisor, Region Jönköping County, Sweden
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