History

History of the Local Committee of Athens

Making a journey through time, going back in the past 5 decades, one comes across a group of medical students at the Medical Faculty of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, which had an unprecedented idea: to create a communication network with their colleagues, medical students in the 4 cardinal points. It was in 1958, the time of creation of the Hellenic Medical Students' International Committee. The birth of HelMSIC.

Initially it was the Committee responsible for the student exchanges of the Medical Students' Association of Athens and specifically with the original English name of "GreMSIC" it was one of the leading organizations in shaping during the '60s the World Federation of Medical Students - International Federation of Medical Students' Associations - IFMSA. Starting in 1958 and the first bilateral exchange among medical students of Medical School of Athens and that of Berlin under the valuable guidance of late Professor of Obstetrics-Gynecology Mr. N. Louros the Local Committee of HelMSIC-Athens, as it is called today, it operates continuously in 6 main action areas: professional and research of medical students, medical education, human rights and peace, and reproductive and public health. 

In 1962-1963, a member of the LC of Athens was elected as 1st Greek President of the IFMSA, the year when a huge expansion and strengthening the network of clinical exchanges (Standing Committee on Professional Exchanges - SCOPE) took place. In 1973 and in 1982, HelMSIC hosted in Athens and Delphi, respectively, the General Assembly of IFMSA. A medical student from Athens holds the presidency of the IFMSA also during 1985-1987. In 1998, together with other youth organizations from all over Greece and while having the Presidency of the National Board of HelMSIC, the LC of Athens participates in establishing the Greek National Youth Council - E.SY.N., the official spokesman of the views of the Greek youth both within Greece and abroad , a platform of youth organizations active in every aspect of social life, and a permanent member of the European Youth Forum - EYF. HelMSIC-Athens' dealing with European issues of medical students does not start, however, in 1998. Since the 70s, medical students from Athens, held at intervals the position of the European Coordinator (Regional Coordinator for Europe & Central Asia) of IFMSA. In the same year (1998) in Athens the World Congress of Medical Students of IFMSA (93rd Exchange Officers' Meeting) was hosted for the 3rd time with 650 participants. The following year (1999) the President of HelMSIC, a medical student from Athens, was elected again President of the IFMSA. In 1999, a conference of the youth of the countries of Southeast Europe was organized in Athens and HelMSIC served as co-organizer. That conference enjoyed high visibility and recognition by the President of the Republic, Kostis Stefanopoulos and by the Greek Parliament by its President, Apostolos Kaklamanis. Dealing with such international and European relations goes a step further in 2001, as the former President of HelMSIC who served also as president of the IFMSA, gets elected as President of the International Youth Forum of UNESCO. 

In 2000, a new page is written in its long history of HelMSIC in Athens. The Local Committee becomes a member of the European Medical Students' Association - EMSA and participates more actively in the activities of medical students at the European level in the fields of medical ethics, medical and scientific research and that of European integration, following the spirit of a united Europe. Members of the LC, students of the Medical School of Athens, were involved at times to key positions in the Board of EMSA, and had constant presence in the General Assembly and Annual Meeting of EMSA's National Coordinators (General Assemblies & NCM Meetings). In 2007, a member of HelMSIC-Athens holds the position of the 1st European Integration Director of EMSA, and members of HelMSIC-Athens participate for the 1st time in EMS Council (EMS Council 4 Meeting in Heidelberg, Germany) representing Greece. At the same time, HelMSIC-Athens organizes the 1st Twinning Project in Greece and students from Athens visit Rotterdam-the Netherlands and vice versa. In 2008, HelMSIC-Athens is responsible for conducting and successfully organizing the 5th European Medical Students' Council (EMS Council 5) with a theme on the "Care of Patients with terminal illness". Invited speakers are distinguished professors from European and Greek Universities. Between 2008-2009, members of the LC hold the posts of Secretary General and Vice-President of the EMS Council Board. Continuing the tradition of this 10-year continuity of participation in the European affairs of medical students, HelMSIC-Athens is about to welcome this year the medical students of the European continent in Greece, proudly hosting the September 2010 General Assembly of EMSA in Athens.