President's Message
Anne Margriet Pot, PhD
President (2024-2025)
Dear colleagues,
As I enter my second year as President of the IPA at the start of 2025, I would like to share some of the key initiatives we are actively working on as an organization. Together, we hope to make this an inspiring year—especially in a time when the impact of politics on science and healthcare is taking on increasingly extreme forms in various countries. Now more than ever, we must support, inspire, and encourage one another, keeping in mind both our own mental health and that of older people worldwide.
The year is already off to a strong start with an engaging webinar on Mental Health Care for Older Adults in India: Challenges and Innovations and an interesting Journal Club on Determinants of suicidal behavior in dementia.
We are looking forward to another great year at IPA and I am pleased to share some of the current priorities of our IPA Board of Directors
IPA Congress in Kanazawa, Japan
We are delighted to host the 2025 International Congress of IPA in Kanazawa, Japan’s historic city, from Thursday, September 25th to Saturday, September 27th, 2025. This congress is being organized in collaboration with the 40th Japanese Society of Geriatric Psychiatry. Kanazawa is conveniently located just a 2.5-hour train ride from Tokyo.
Preparations for the congress are well underway, and abstract submissions are now open. We encourage you to submit and share your important work: 2025IPACongress. The theme of this year’s congress is “Fostering Inclusive and Supportive Societies Worldwide to Enhance the Mental Health of Older Adults.” As always, we welcome participation from all disciplines involved in the field of mental health and aging.
Members and Board Members
At present, our members come from an impressive 56 countries across all six global regions. Our successful Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last year significantly boosted membership, particularly in Latin America.
By the end of last year, the terms of two valued Board Members - Raymond Koopmans from the Netherlands and Tomas Leon from Chile - came to an end. We are deeply grateful for their dedication and contributions to the IPA. In the meantime, we have launched a new recruitment campaign for Board Members. Since we strive to be a truly international organization, we aim to ensure our Board reflects the diversity of our membership. We have particularly sought new Board Members from Asia and Africa.
International Psychogeriatrics (IP)
At the beginning of this year, our top-ranked International Psychogeriatrics journal successfully transitioned to its new publisher. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and congratulations to our tireless Editor-in-Chief, Dilip Jeste, who played a crucial role in making this transition smooth in collaboration with Josh Spieler from Elsevier.
Our journal is now fully open access—an important step that other journals will undoubtedly follow in the coming years, but one we are proud to have taken already. As an IPA member, you receive a 20% discount on publication fees, but there are other discounts available. CLICK HERE for more This is a great opportunity to submit your work and encourage your colleagues to join IPA as members.
Looking Forward
The IPA is in great shape, and with the dedication and enthusiasm of all our members, we are confident that 2025 will be another remarkable year. Keep an eye out for upcoming webinars, debates, and journal clubs. Make your voice heard, get involved, and stay connected!
Warm regards,
Anne Margriet Pot, President
