History of Latin American Dermatology

JOSÉ A. MÁSSIMO, PEDRO GARCÍA ZUBILLAGA, GRACIELA MANZUR, MIRTA VÁZQUEZSADEPE gave the Congress an appropriate institutional framework. It then set itselfa more ambitious goal: bringing together in its midst all specialists devoted to pediatricDermatology.Once the congress had ended, and with the strength bestowed on the society by thesuccess achieved in organizing it, with more than 900 participants from around theworld and with the goals achieved within and outside the country, the procedures werelaunched to receive official status.This process began to take shape at a meeting held at the Prof. Dr. Juan P. GarrahanPediatric Hospital, at which a mandate was given to the then provisional authorities tohandle the creation of an official entity independent of the already existing ones.The procedures carried out before the government department that regulates the existenceand activities of civil associations came to a successful conclusion on August 14,1995, when, at a meeting held at the Prof. Dr. Juan P. Garrahan Pediatric Hospital, agroup of dermatologists concentrating on child health came together and launched thescientific activities of the Argentine Society of Pediatric Dermatology (SADEPE).The meeting approved the proposed bylaws of the new institution and appointed thefirst governing board, which was constituted by Drs. Adrián Martín Pierini (president),Eva Golberger de Mora (vice-president), Silvia Anselmi (general secretary), Rita GarcíaDíaz (scientific secretary), Rebeca Rubinson (treasurer), Alicia Rositto and Zulema Piccone(full members) and Silvia Pueyo and Alejandro Campos Carlés (substitute members).The monitoring organ was constituted by Amalia Campo and Jorge Savoia as fullaccount reviewers and Lidia Valle as substitute account reviewer.The legal standing of the institution was awarded under resolution 00191 of November17, 1995.On April 27, 1996, a meeting of the society was held at the Prof. Dr. Juan P. GarrahanPediatric Hospital at which the renewal of the governing board was decided, appointingits new members: president, Jorge Savoia, vice-president, Silvia Pueyo, general secretary,Alberto Lavieri, scientific secretary, María Rosa Cordisco, treasurer, VivianaKislansky, full members, José Antonio Mássimo and Adrián Martín Pierini, and substitutemembers, Zulema Picone and María Ranalletta.The monitoring organ was also appointed, formed by María del Carmen Boente andNélida Pizzi de Parra, as full account reviewers, and Gisella Delfino as substitute accountreviewer.The next major task the new governing board set itself was the organization and runningof an Argentine congress of this field.Two years after being certified as an individual scientific association with its own legalstanding, SADEPE organized, between August 13 and 16, 1997, the First ArgentineCongress of Pediatric Dermatology in the auditoriums of the Palais Rouge in the City ofBuenos Aires, with a major scientific program and a large number of participants, whoincluded pediatricians and dermatologists.This First Congress was presided by Dr. Jorge Savoia; participating as special guestswere Drs. John Harper of the United Kingdom, Moise Levy, Neil Prose and G. Goldbergof the U.S. and Ramón Ruiz Maldonado of Mexico, among other guests of internationalprestige, thus undertaking a fruitful path of scientific events of a very high level.At the conclusion of the Congress, on August 16, a special meeting appointed the newGoverning Board, formed by Silvia Pueyo (president), Nélida Pizzi de Parra (vice-president),José Antonio Mássimo (general secretary), María Rosa Cordisco (scientific secretary),Viviana Kislansky (treasurer), Zulema Piccone and Alberto Lavieri (full members),María Amelia García and María del Carmen Boente (substitute members), María TeresaGonzález and Carmen Margulis (full account monitors) and María Elsa Giovo (substituteaccount monitor).The renewal of the Governing Board generated new projects, such as the implementation56