The Regional Organization for Europe of the FDI

The regional organization for Europe of the FDI Rolf Braun,* D M D, K o ln -L in d e n t h a l, G erm a n y

A decision of the General Assembly of the in the fields of research, education, and Fédération Dentaire Internationale, No­ public health in order to improve the vember 7, 1964, at the San Francisco dental and general health of all peoples meeting, cleared the way for the estab­ and safeguard the interests of the profes­ lishment of a regional organization for sion. Europe. No immediate changes in FDI 2. To cooperate with the various organization were necessary to permit this agencies of the FDI in promoting the step. Federation’s objectives within the fields of Twelve European member associations activity of the organization. of the FDI, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, 3. To formulate policies of regional France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, character for submission to the FDI The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Swit­ Council and the General Assembly. zerland, and the United Kingdom, agreed 4. To carry out, with the approval of to form the regional organization. Repre­ the organization, such other functions as sentatives of these societies met in Liege, Belgium, on January 30 and 31, 1965 to may be assigned to it by the Council or complete formalities. Each member na­ General Assembly. 5. To safeguard the interests of the tion had one delegate and one observer, except for France, Germany, and the profession vis-a-vis other regional organi­ United Kingdom, which, because of the zations in Europe insofar as this is not size of their national groups, had two done by the FDI itself. delegates each. 6. To increase the exchange of in­ The following officers were elected: formation in all areas which are of inter­ Dr. Hans Freihofer, Switzerland, presi­ est to all members of the Organization. dent, Dr. Wilhelm Brenner, Austria, vicepresident, and Dr. Rolf Braun, Germany, BASIS FOR ORGANIZATION secretary-treasurer. Functions of the organization, as de­ The basis for formation of a regional or­ fined in the bylaws, are: ganization is especially sound in Europe 1. To establish closer cooperation be­ because the 12 member organizations tween the member associations or na­ have been working together for years in tional committees of the FDI in Europe the FDI regional commission. The new

88 - J . AMER. DENT. ASSN.: Vol. 71, July 1965

group can continue work in progress, strengthened by better organization. R e g i o n a l O rga n iz a tion s S t r e n g t h e n FD I ’ The list of functions of the regional or­ ganization is comprehensive. Fulfilling these functions will be simplified by the work of the predecessor commission. The regional organization must not assume any powers itself, since this would weaken the Fédération. The fact that the FDI thus far has acted with unanimity is a source of special strength, not only for the dentists of the world but also for international dentistry. It is the desire of the member organizations to subordinate their own work to the best interest of the Fédération. In spite of this, it must be recognized that conditions for the practice of den­ tistry vary in different areas of the world. The report of the Public Dental Health Services Commission of the FDI at the conference in San Francisco showed clearly that in many parts of the world there is a shortage of dental care facili­ ties; therefore, the methods of fighting dental disease must vary. In underdevel­ oped nations, persons not fully qualified according to European and American standards must be enlisted to help with the problem, because limited dental care is better than no care at all. Nations with a sufficient number of fully qualified practitioners must take steps to assure that dentistry is practiced only by those professionally trained. This is an example of the difficulties which the FDI must overcome in setting standards which can be applied universally. The greater the difference between countries, the more important it becomes that guidelines which can be followed everywhere are spelled out. A p p lica b ility o f th e P r o g r a m ’ One of the important functions of the European Re­ gional Organization, and of other re­ gional organizations which may follow, will be to develop broad guidelines ap­ plicable to the region concerned. In

Europe a number of member organiza­ tions require international votes of ap­ proval for the furtherance of their inter­ national goals. The interest of member organizations of the FDI should not end with formal recognition of the ideals of the international body. The member or­ ganizations must recognize that the inter­ national body can be of practical value to them. For example, the efforts of dentists in many European countries to prevent care of patients by dental technicians and other persons not professionally qualified may be cited. In these countries, the im­ pression must not be gained that because the international body supports use of less trained personnel in underdeveloped na­ tions, this practice should be encouraged in more advanced nations. In this in­ stance, it is the responsibility of the Regional Organization to correlate and support the goals of the member organi­ zations of the countries affected, and to support the member organizations in their efforts with national governments. Another example of the work of the regional organization which is especially applicable in Europe is the relationship of the professional societies to the social security systems. The FDI as a body could not function properly in this sphere be­ cause the question does not arise in most non-European nations. The European Re­ gional Organization, however, is uniquely prepared to deal with such problems. This work can greatly benefit the other members of the FDI—through it they gain a world-wide perspective on regional problems. H a rm on iz a tion o r C o o r d in a tio n • In spite of similarities in social structures in Euro­ pean countries, the dental organizations have developed in somewhat dissimilar ways. Old traditions exist which cause divergent patterns. For example, in den­ tal education and in the role of the pro­ fessional society vis-a-vis the government. In education, for instance, there are great differences in curriculums, and some den­ tal schools still do not have a university

Braun: FDI REGIONAL O R GANIZATIO N • 89

affiliation. Sufficient reason exists to un­ dertake the experiment of unifying the curriculums of students in the Common Market countries, because the European Economic Community Organization may be looked upon in a sense as a forerunner of a single European State. This need to unify curriculums does not exist for non-EEC nations, but it is the function of the Regional Organiza­ tion to coordinate the curriculum exist­ ing in EEC and non-EEC nations. The experience of the predecessor Regional Commission for Europe has shown that it is difficult, if not occasionally impos­ sible, to reach a unanimous conclusion. The differences must be settled by mutual education. This requires that the indi­ vidual representatives at least be willing to understand each other’s problem. A useful by-product of regional activities is that the mistakes made by one nation need not be repeated by another. It was for this reason that the Regional Com­ mission initiated, and the Regional Or­ ganization doubtless will continue, a plan to exchange and collect information. In­ struction obtained at meetings, which are limited by finances to two annually, will surely not be sufficient. Therefore the Secretariat will continue to circulate col­ lected material having a bearing on ques­ tions to be discussed at the meetings. This will also provide a way for member or­ ganizations to publicize in their own areas those items which are particularly per­ tinent locally. M e e t in g s with_a T h e m e • Experience has shown that meetings having a central theme are productive—for example, the January, 1963 Strabourg meeting dealing with “Organization of dental care for children,” and the 1963 Stockholm session

dealing with “The liberal professions in the EEC with special reference to the dental profession.” More recently, in Cologne in January 1964, the central theme of the meeting was “What is social dentistry—its scope and its methods.” This theme was continued to the June 1964 Paris meeting. The proceedings of these meetings are worthy of intensive study, because the persons who address themselves to the central themes are rec­ ognized authorities. The organizing meeting of the FDI European Regional Organization held in Liege had “Public relations” as its central theme. Harold Hillenbrand, secretary of the American Dental Association, dis­ cussed “Design for a program: public re­ lations for the dental profession.” This talk, based on the ADA’s enormous ex­ perience, will be of great help in the for­ mation of public relations programs in European countries. Mr. Knaupp, the Frankfurt, Germany, representative of a U.S. company, spoke on the subject “Public relations as a policy means for associations and companies.” The two talks will serve as a basis for a special session of the General Assembly to be held at the time of the Vienna FDI meeting in June.

SUMMARY The formation of a European Regional Organization is a test for the FDI. The goals of the Organization should be to clarify and extend the broad FDI goals so that they fit into the local European picture. In this way the new organization will serve the FDI and, by reacting to the specific wishes of its members, will serve member organizations. U niversitatsstrasse 73