11th Annual Symposium on Complementary Health Care 17th–19th November 2004, Exeter, UK

Welcome to this year’s Annual Symposium on Complementary Health Care in Exeter. This symposium is now in its 11th year and is probably one of the largest and longest-running scientific meetings of its kind. Since its humble beginnings as a one-day meeting with only about 40 delegates back in 1994, it has come a long way. It has fast become a well-established symposium of international acclaim, extended to two days and complemented by workshops. Amongst a growing number of conferences on complementary medicine, this one turned out to be different in several ways. In addition to being a regular event with an emphasis on internationality, its format was that of a rigorous research symposium focusing, where possible, on original data. The Annual Symposium at Exeter seemed to have discovered a niche that made it increasingly popular over the years. In the years to come, the main aim was not to increase the size of the symposium (particularly given the limited conference facilities in Exeter!) but to continue improving its quality. This has resulted in what we hope is an attractive mix of short oral presentations, keynote lectures and poster rounds. Posters deserve to be formally presented rather than be merely displayed and therefore we provide every poster presenter with the opportunity to give a short oral summary of their work. This means that over the two days, around 100 delegates have the opportunity to present their work to an international audience. Our over-riding vision in all this is to facilitate the networking process in complementary medicine research; our Annual Symposia are meant to stimulate further good quality research. A crucial part of the meetings are the discussions, and we try to make sure that there is enough time for them. The standard of the presentations has steadily risen over the years, in terms of both the quality of the studies undertaken and the presentations themselves.

Last year, our unit celebrated its 10th anniversary. To mark the occasion we decided to take the 10th Annual Symposium to London. Thanks to substantial sponsorship, we were able to afford the enormous overheads of running such a conference in London. Interest in the symposium was overwhelming and we were pleased to welcome almost 300 delegates from 20 different countries. The programme contained around 160 presentations, including two keynote lectures and the first Varro Tyler Memorial Lecture. Several international institutions affiliated with the symposium and organised sessions or workshops. The 10th symposium also saw the foundation of the International Society of Complementary Medicine Research, which this year is holding its first Annual General Meeting at the symposium. We are proud to have been the ‘obstetricians’ in the birth of this organisation and wish it well for the future.

This year we are back in Exeter. The decision was not an easy one given the huge success of the ‘Exeter in London’ symposium, but we knew that without significant sponsorship we could not afford the London venue. In addition, the feedback from our questionnaires showed a slight preference for Exeter. Many of our regular delegates told us that they missed the pleasant atmosphere of our cathedral city and the symposium dinner traditionally held at the historic Exeter Guildhall. They also thought that the Exeter venue and hotel offered better facilities for networking. Eventually, we agreed with this view: the Exeter Symposium belongs to Exeter.

At the 11th Annual Symposium we can again present a packed programme. The abstracts of oral and poster presentations are published in this supplement of FACT (Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies, available online from 2005. The range of topics is impressive, covering not only the most commonly used CAM therapies, such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, homoeopathy, manipulative therapies and mind/body modalities, but also numerous less well-known modalities. Topics related to education, regulation, methodological issues and safety are also covered. As always, the symposium is preceded by workshops: one on ‘Unusual trial design in CAM’ and one on ‘CAM – defining the principles’.

We are delighted to welcome two high-profile keynote speakers this year. Jack Killen, Director of the Office of International Health Research of the National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health (NCCAM/NIH), USA, will give an overview of the NCCAM’s research and training programmes. David M Eisenberg, Director of the Harvard Medical School Osher Institute, Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, USA, has been elected by an independent panel to give the second Varro Tyler Memorial Lecture, an annual series of lectures on herbal medicine, supported by Schwabe Pharmaceuticals, Germany.

All that remains is for us to wish you a pleasant stay in Exeter. We hope you enjoy the 11th Annual Symposium on Complementary Health Care, we wish you will contribute to our mission of creating an occasion for open exchange and we look forward to welcoming you back next year.