Welcome 

Dear members and friends,

it is a great honour, pleasure, and responsibility to be elected as the incoming President of EFS. First of all, I would like to thank the distinguished members of the board for giving me opportunity to be the president of such an elegant and important society and extend my gratitude to the General Assembly for the approval of this position. I would also like to express my gratitude to the prior presidents, Chiara Simonelli and Kevan Wylie, with whom I have worked together with pleasure over the years.

Presidency will no doubt be an exhausting but mostly a rewarding task. The EFS is now an umbrella federation that has more than 50 member associations, many individual members, some affiliated members, and student members. EFS is in close liaison with ESSM and have even organized a joint congress in Istanbul in the year 2014 which ended up with one of the highest number of attendees if not the highest… EFS’s mission will certainly cover establishing stronger links and bridging closer relationships and collaborations with associations that aim similar goals and values during the time of my presidency. Our ultimate goal will be promoting sexual health and sexual rights, improving sexual education, preventing sexual disorders and disseminating effective and ethical treatments to reduce human suffering due to sexual disorders and for those who have been victims of sexual abuse. Sexual health and sexual rights are not luxuries but essentials of human well-being that needs to be well respected without leaving anyone behind. In that regard, I am hoping to have further collaboration and cooperation with WAS who has similar values and goals. Indeed, we have already planned to have an interview with distinguished WAS Executive and Advisory board members to improve collaborative efforts. EFS is already one of the 5 regional federations affiliated to WAS. Working in close collaboration will end up with mutual benefits while preserving the unique character and function of each individual society and will certainly have profound positive consequences for the public. We need to be more supportive, encouraging, and compassionate to our member associations and individual members and make them feel the “sense of belonging” to EFS. In that respect, we are hoping to organize regular meetings for representatives from each member association to meet frequently in order to work jointly at an international level for different academical and clinical projects. We will hopefully organize” representatives meeting” in the following EFS Congresses where significant decisions can be taken, and important goals can be set.

EFS’s mission to disseminate sexual health and, sexual rights and disseminating the science and practice of good practice will be accomplished via truly International and highly Scientific Congresses organized with 2 years intervals, regional meetings, setting up optimal standards of training amongst member societies as well as our peer-reviewed journal “ Sexologies” edited by Alain Giami and our newsletter edited by Filippo Nimbi. Certification of sexual educators, counsellors and therapists will be an issue that requires attention as sexology is not a static but continuously evolving discipline. EFS will keep working on establishing standards of training for educators, counsellors, and therapists on top of the certifications of individuals as psycho-sexologists given by EFS and ESSM. To sum up, I would like to inform all of our members that our board members are very enthusiastic to liaise with any association and individual that aims to improve the quality of service given to our clients and patients in the process of reducing human suffering and pain and promoting sexual health and sexual rights. Coming together is only a beginning but working together is success.

As the last but not the least, it is an honour and pleasure for The European Federation of Sexology (EFS) to welcome you to the 15th EFS Congress that has now been postponed to 10-13 June 2021. This congress will be organized jointly with the Danish Association of Clinical Sexology (DACS) in the beautiful city of Aalborg where you will be swiftly be carried to another culture with the Danish hospitality. The EFS and DACS will deliver a high-quality congress which hopefully will turn out to be a memorable event both scientifically and socially. As we believe that the scientific success of a congress depends on the contributions of the delegates, we hope that many of you will be able to get actively involved in the congress. The programme will cover a wide range of new clinical and research topics including challenges faced regarding sexual rights, sexual health, and sexual disorders. The theme of the congress reflects the central motive of the event that is embracing differences and diversity and promoting sexual health and rights as one of the main human rights.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Aalborg to establish closer professional and social links where you will meet old friends and make new ones following the long-term isolation caused by the devastating pandemic.

I am delighted to encourage you to become members or to renew your existing membership to EFS which will certainly bring many benefits. Please find out more information about our federation on our new website www.europeansexology.com

Our board members and I am looking forward to serving you in the most appropriate and desirable way over the next few years. Please do not hesitate to guide us to serve you in the best way possible.

Stay healthy and connected during these devastating times of COVID-19
Cordial regards,

Mehmet Sungur

Professor of Psychiatry, Istanbul Kent University, Istanbul
President of the European Federation of Sexology (EFS
President of the Turkish Association for Cognitive Behaviour Psychotherapy (TACBP)
Former President of European Association of Behaviour and Cognitive Psychotherapy (EABCT)
Past President of the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy (IACP)
Diplomate, Founding Fellow Academy of Cognitive Therapy (ACT), ACT Certified Supervisor, Trainer and Consultant
Beck Institute International Advisory Committee Member
World Confederation of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies Board Member