Hello, Bonjour, Goedendag, Guten Tag, Goddag, Hola, Kia ora, Hei, Hej, Nǐ hǎo, Vaṇakkam, Olá, Shalom, Konnichiwa, Shikamoo, Yas sas ISBNPA colleagues,
Congratulations to all our members who participated in the XChange 2021 conference! The conference exceeded our expectations, with approximately 700 quality submissions (45 symposia, nearly 500 regular abstracts), 691 registrations, and made surplus! Well done for another successful conference!
As of last week, I have taken the reins of the presidency from Professor Mai Chin Paw and will be your president for the next two years. My name is Erica Hinckson, I am a professor at Auckland University of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand and my area of research is in physical activity and the built environment.
I have been a proud member of ISBNPA since 2012. I have attended all but one conference around the world. I served on the Executive Committee as a member at large, Co-Chair of Scientific Programme Committee and a member of the Conference Organising Committee. I was one of the Chairs of the Local Organising Committee for the ISBNPA 2020 conference in Auckland, New Zealand that unfortunately was postponed to 2025 due to Covid19. Some of you may know me from our research collaborations and others may have seen me on stage with my NZ colleagues performing a Māori song (waiata) and a war dance (the Haka) at the 2019 closing ceremony of ISBNPA Conference in Prague.
At this time, I would like to thank Mai for her hard work over her term and who now joins the very esteemed group of former presidents of our society. The last two years have not been easy, in fact they were very different to what we were used to as members of this society. In the past, we had the privilege of attending in person our very successful annual conference around the world that brought us all together to share our research and ideas, network and grow. Mai kept this society together for the last two years so on behalf of our Society, we wholeheartedly thank Mai for her contributions to our society.
I would also like to thank our executive director Associate Professor António Palmeira, for always going above and beyond the call of duty. Truly appreciated. Finally, I would like to thank the executive committee members and subcommittees; these are volunteer members who donate their time freely to support the society. Thank you all for your time, always appreciated.
Moving forward…. Adapting to the new normal the Executive Committee had gone back to the Society and prioritized three strategic activities to focus (Hybrid Conference, Science Advocacy and Measures Repository). We will be focusing in bringing these to life and allocating the relevant budget and resources to realise them. I will also be taking a comprehensive approach to the development of our new strategy. The world around us has changed and we need to not only be able to respond nimbly to change but also lead change.
I promised to:
• Advance the strategic thinking and planning for our Society
• Advance the profile of our society by linking to key world organisations
• Advancing our position as an organisation that produces excellent research to resolve every-day issues around physical activity, nutrition and health
My experiences of our Society is one that provides a supportive, empowering and caring environment where excellent research can flourish and I would like the opportunity to continue to serve our Society as its president, Thank you all very much and looking forward in working with you to further advance the image, purpose and place of our Society at the international stage.
Thank you!
Erica
