Chair Dr. Rufus Cartwright rufus.cartwright@gmail.com

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Purpose
The mission of IUGA Fellows Committee is to contribute to the academic development of fellows/trainees in the field of Urogynecology/Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery by fostering international collaboration and scholarship.

Current Projects
The current focuses for the Fellows Committee are the Fellows Day to be held at IUGA Dublin 2013, which will feature hands-on training opportunities and the annual Fellows Dinner, and the awarding of the 2nd IUGA Fellows Research Network grant, which will bring together Fellows to work on multi-centre international research projects.

Current Members
We currently have 11 members, but all IUGA membership holders in training or in a fellowship program are welcome. New members will be added yearly at the annual IUGA meeting and are invited to stand as Chair or co-Chair or join one of five subcommittees (Membership, Fellows Research Network, Communication, Social Planning and Mentoring).

Future Projects
Projects in the pipeline include a formal mentoring system, to supplement existing observership programmes, and the creation of a new fellows webspace.

Chair Dr. Alex Digesu a.digesu@imperial.ac.uk

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Purpose
The mission of the Publications Committee is to edit and publish the IUGA Newsletter.

Current Projects

• Offering updates on the regular activities of IUGA
• Disseminating information about membership regulations
• Publishing updates on IUGA's educational activities, such as international observerships and fellowships, exchange programme, grants etc.
• Stimulating discussion on interesting research and clinical topics in Urogynaecology by hosting reviews and debates authored by experts
• Promoting the activities of other IUGA committees

Current Members
The Publications Committee includes 18 IUGA members from different countries. Each member has a specific role and responsibility within the Committee.

Future Projects
The Publications Committee is now working on an electronic version of the Newsletter entitled IUGA "News and Views" which will also be published from 2012 onwards in order to allow the IUGA Members to be more regularly updated on the Society activities.

Chair Dr. Lynsey Hayward Lynsey.Hayward@middlemore.co.nz Click here to close Purpose The purpose of the committee is to increase the profile of IUGA, encourage membership and provide products such as the patient information brochures that promote both IUGA but also the spread knowledge about pelvic floor dysfunction. Current Projects To date we have produced a series of 16 illustrated patient information brochures that are available to download free from the patient information section of the website. We are now in the process of translating these brochures into several languages (10 and counting!) so they are as widely available as possible to IUGA members. These brochures will also be printed as a Tri-fold version and available for purchase at cost price from the IUGA online store that is under development. Other projects underway include the production of some attractive wall charts featuring the brochure illustration and the development of an informative flip chart for use in the office. Several more leaflets are also underway including management of constipation and sexual dysfunction which I’m sure will be useful to members. Current Members The Public Relations Committee is an active group of about 15 people. Future Projects Over the next 12-18 months we would like to develop an interactive POPQ application that members can download to provide a dynamic illustration to patients of their prolapse. We hope to have this available as a downloadable application using the current high quality illustrations from the patient brochures. If you are interested in contributing to the PR committee or have some ideas you would like us to develop, we would love to hear from you. Please let us know how IUGA can serve you better.

Chair Dr. Dorothy Kammerer-Doak dkd@womenspsc.com

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Purpose
The main duty of the IUGA Research and Development Committee is to review research applications and award grant funding for original research in the field of urogynecology. The Committee also develops and promotes research projects through its members and interested individuals

Current Projects
Recently, an update for the Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Urinary Incontinence Questionnaire was validated in the English language as part of a multi-center project. This updated version, the PISQ-R (Revised), is currently undergoing translation-validation in multiple languages. Additionally, a manuscript from the committee regarding recommendations and standardization for the evaluation of pelvic organ prolapse will soon be published. We have also established a new subcommittee, a Basic Science and Biomechanical Research Interest Group to facilitate research through international collaboration in these areas.

Current Members
Currently, we have 17 members on the committee.

Future Projects
Future projects include the development of an international surgical database, the development of an anatomical computer generated teaching module, and review of best practice for the treatment of recurrent stress urinary incontinence.

Chair Dr. Michele Meschia m.meschia@libero.it

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Purpose
Purpose of the committee is to review all submissions for the forthcoming meeting and to build up the scientific program of the meeting.

Current Projects
We are now working on different topics regarding abstracts submission trying to achieve a better quality of papers to be presented. i.e. power calculations versus post hoc calculations has to be clearly defined in abstracts; case reports will be automatically relegate to NDP; salami publications will be combined in a single abstract and re-scored; limit of up to 5 paper from one institution; we will add in the submission guidelines that presenter may not be full time employee of industry

Current Members
The committee members are 9 including my self as chairman.

Future Projects
Future projects include an improvement of the on-line submissions system to facilitate submission from non English spoken country.

Chair Prof. Bernard Haylen haylen@optusnet.com.au

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Purpose
To identify areas of Standardization or Terminology that need to be clarified or updated and develop appropriate processes for completing such projects in a timely and efficient manner.

Current Projects

• IUGA-ICS Joint Report on the Terminology for Outcomes of Surgery for Female Pelvic Floor Surgery.
• IUGA-ICS Joint Terminology and Classification of Complications related to Native Tissue Pelvic Floor Surgery.
• IUGA-ICS Registry of Complications of the insertion of Prostheses and Grafts in Female Pelvic Floor Surgery.
• IUGA-ICS Joint Report on the Terminology for Female Anorectal Dysfunction.

Current Members
Currently there is a Chair and 9 other Committee members with many others involved in the different projects.

Future Projects

• IUGA-ICS Joint Report on the Terminology for the clinical use of Ultrasound in Female Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
• IUGA-ICS Joint Report on Physiotherapy for Female Pelvic Floor Dysfunction