The Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) and Tourism Toronto, Toronto’s Convention and Visitors Bureau announced that Toronto has been selected to host the 2010 joint annual meeting of the International Continence Society (ICS) and the International Urogynecological Association (IUGA).

ICS will be holding its 39th annual meeting in Toronto, while the IUGA will be holding its 35th annual meeting here.

“This prestigious win is tremendous news for the city,” said David Whitaker, President and CEO of Tourism Toronto. “Our competitiveness continues to be rooted in strong industry partnerships at all levels, a dynamic local medical community, a reinvigorated cultural product in the city and the continued efforts of our international sales team.”

The joint conference is expected to attract more than 3,500 distinguished health professionals and international leaders from these two societies. Attendees will include the world’s top urologists, gynecologists, urogynecologists, colorectal surgeons, basic scientists, nurses and physiotherapists, among others interested in the fields and related care.

Bid officials at Tourism Toronto and the MTCC attributed the win to Toronto’s excellent international reputation as an event destination and widely credited the outstanding efforts of Toronto-based doctors Dr. Sender Herschorn and Dr. Harold P. Drutz, who were actively involved in the preparation of the winning bid submission.

Dr. Drutz previously hosted and chaired the annual International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) meeting in Toronto, 1994.

Barry Smith, the CEO of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre noted that Dr. Herschorn and Dr. Drutz are both prominent international figures in their fields who are widely recognized among their peers at both IUGA and ICS.

Their stellar professional reputations and high profile were instrumental in the MTCC being chosen for this important event, he said. Informal feedback from members of the ICS/IUGA 2010 selection committee indicated that it was the deep academic and practical expertise of these two individuals and their reputations for excellence that made all the difference.

The ICS/IUGA 2010 meeting in Toronto will be the first time since 2004 that the two organizations have hosted a joint meeting. The two groups have only met twice jointly before, once in Paris in 2004, and also in Denver in 1999.

The event is seen as the highlight of the Urological and Urogynecologic calendar among the discipline’s international specialists and is likely to offer a high standard of science, as is typical of ICS events, as well as state-of-the-art clinical debates, characteristic of IUGA events.

To be held August 23-27, 2010, the ICS/IUGA 2010 event is expected to generate 9,600 total hotel room nights, with combined visitor spending expected to top $7.4 million. Attendees at ICS/IUGA 2010 will discuss the latest scientific research, new devices and technologies, new surgical options, innovations in drug therapies and other clinical developments in the fields of incontinence and pelvic floor dysfunction.

Urinary incontinence (UI), also includes many cases of overactive bladder, involving the accidental or unwanted leakage of urine. More than 1.5 million Canadians have some type of bladder control problem, most of whom are women.

UI can develop at any age, but becomes more common with passing age. In many patients, UI in women is closely related to pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD), where the complex set of muscles supporting the bladder, rectum, cervix may weaken.

ICS and IUGA members often work closely together in the treatment of patients suffering from common symptoms.

Dr. Drutz and Dr. Herschorn noted that this conference will help to solidify the reputations of both the City of Toronto and the University of Toronto.

“This will put us in a very pre-eminent position,” added Dr. Drutz. “The conference will emphasize the multidisciplinary and inter-disciplinary collaboration that is contributing so greatly to this field today,” he said.

Dr. Herschorn noted that academic physicians have an important mandate to improve both their speciality and the quality of care patients receive, and that major conferences of this kind help to advance this vital work.

A call to other leaders to help bring international professional congresses to Toronto

Both physicians act as leaders in the Toronto Ambassador’s Program, which was launched in November 2005 to raise the City’s profile internationally as an exciting and attractive event destination for major conventions.

Under this program, Tourism Toronto and the MTCC work closely with a variety of local professionals such as Dr. Herschorn and Dr. Drutz and other members of Toronto’s well-regarded medical and university communities to build a strong competitive edge for Toronto in bidding for international congresses.

Individuals with similar international networks who are aware of new conference business opportunities in their profession or of current and upcoming bids, and are interested in helping to bring other major events like these to Toronto are encouraged to contact Eric Chou, MTCC’s International Sales Manager, at (416) 585-8376 or Alice Au, Director of Sales, International Meetings & Events, Tourism Toronto, at (416) 203-3819.

This event is just the latest in a series of prestigious wins in the medical/scientific/research market segment for the MTCC and Tourism Toronto. Among the big health-related events at the MTCC last year were:

• the XVI International AIDS Conference (“AIDS 2006"), which brought more than 26,000 of the world’s top political, scientific and community leaders and others working on the front lines of the

AIDS epidemic to Toronto;

• the 159th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, which drew more than 18,000 psychiatrists from 85 countries; and,

• the 2006 International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) World Congress on Osteoporosis (IOF WCO), which was the world’s largest scientific congress devoted specifically to osteoporosis.