Call for Expression of Interest for Organizing
IFMBE Co-sponsored Regional Conferences in 2008

IFMBE co-sponsored conferences have a triennial cycle and they are IFMBE Regional Conferences as well as the International Conference on Cellular Engineering. These conferences are of great importance for the development of regional and international collaboration in biomedical engineering research and science. The Federation has recently adopted numerous measures to support the organizers of the conferences in order to gain increased visibility for the events they are organizing and to increase the scientific impact of the events and their publications.

The IFMBE is calling its affiliated societies to express their interest in the organization of IFMBE co-sponsored conferences to be held in 2008 and to prepare bids according to the "Procedures for the IFMBE co-sponsored Regional Conference site selection" which can be found on the IFMBE web site.

The co-sponsored regional conferences to be addressed by the bids for the year 2008 are:
7th Asian-Pacific Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering
14th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering, and
4th European Medical and Biological Engineering Conference.
Procedures for the site selection of the IFMBE co-sponsored Regional Conference were adopted by the IFMBE Administrative Council at its meeting held in Naples, July 29 – 30, 2004.

OPERATION:
The site of the next (to follow in three years) IFMBE co-sponsored regional conference (to be held within the same region) shall be decided by the national IFMBE affiliated societies from the particular region, at a meeting of regional secretaries at the venue and at the time of the current regional conference.

PROSPECTIVE HOSTS:
Proposals to host the IFMBE co-sponsored Regional Conference may be submitted by a single IFMBE affiliated society or jointly by several societies at a single site. All communication shall be by electronic mail.

INDICATIVE TIMETABLE:
The criteria to host an IFMBE co-sponsored Regional Conference are published as a part of the IFMBE co-sponsored Regional Conference Guidelines. The criteria shall be posted on the IFMBE web site. The prospective host societies shall submit their proposals to host the IFMBE co-sponsored Regional Conference using the Conference Application Form to the IFMBE Conference Committee Chair with a copy to the Secretary General's office at least 60 days before the first working day of the Regional Conference. By submitting the Conference Application Form, the prospective host society confirms its willingness to adhere to the IFMBE Regional Conference Guidelines. The Conference Committee Chair shall distribute the received applications to the regional secretaries and to the IFMBE officers at least 30 days before the first working day of the Regional Conference. The Conference Committee shall review the submissions solely to ensure that the criteria have been met sufficiently. The prospective hosts whose submissions satisfy the criteria shall be so informed. Those whose submissions are not considered adequate shall be so informed at least 45 days before the meeting of the regional secretaries in the current year's conference, with the possibility of revised documentation being submitted no later than 30 days prior to the Conference. The Conference Committee shall work with the host organization of the forthcoming Regional Conference to ensure that a meeting room and facilities are provided for the prospective hosts to make oral presentations of their printed and visual materials. The Conference Committee shall arrange a timetable for these presentations. The presentation session is open to all participants in the Regional Conference but it is expected that, at least, the voting delegates of the IFMBE regional societies shall attend. The chairman at these presentations is the Chairman of the Conference Committee, supported by the other members of the Conference Committee. Their function is to ensure that each of the prospective hosts is able to present its case as fairly as possible, without serious omissions or bias. No recommendations or conclusions should follow directly from this presentation. Each presentation shall be allocated 20 minutes plus an additional 10 minutes for questions and answers. In case of absence of the Chairman of the Conference Committee, the IFMBE President shall appoint a suitable person to chair the presentations.

VOTING PROCEDURES:
The secretaries or officially approved substitutes of the regional IFMBE affiliated societies shall hold a secret ballot to select the host. Each society has one vote. Votes can be cast only by attending secretaries or officially approved substitutes.