The International Participants Center is designed to enhance the ATS 2023 International Conference experience for participants with global health interests while highlighting the ATS’s involvement in international activities. The IPC provides a welcoming environment for participants to network, connect with colleagues, and relax while waiting for their next session. Located in Hall D of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, the IPC will be open Sunday–Tuesday, May 21–23, from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. ET.

Exclusive IPC studio talks will serve as a forum for attendees to hear different perspectives on tackling common problems across the globe. This special programming will include discussions centered around delivering high-value care for pulmonary and critical care in low- and middle-income countries, exploring the effects of neglected environmental and occupational exposures on human health and climate change, and the challenges of accessing spirometry in the post-COVID-19 era.

“Because the ATS is based in the U.S., people think that this is only an American organization; however, we are a global organization with about one-third of our members are from outside the U.S. This international representation is important to us. We want and value greatly that diversity and inclusion,” ATS President Gregory P. Downey, MD, ATSF, said. “If you think about any health issue, it’s not only local; it’s global.”

The Global Respiratory Community, located next to the IPC, will provide a rare opportunity to connect and network with international leaders in respiratory health. Additionally, this space will showcase 14 international peer societies that share common goals and objectives with the ATS to improve respiratory health globally. These societies include:

• Asociación Latinoamericana de Tórax (ALAT)
• Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR)
• Asociación Argentina de Medicina Respiratoria (AAMR)
• Brazilian Thoracic Society (SBPT)
• Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS)
• European Respiratory Society (ERS)
• Indian Chest Society (ICS)
• The International Society for Aerosols in Medicine (ISAM)
• Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases (KATRD)
• Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS)
• Sociedad Mexicana de Neumologia y Cirugía de Tórax (SMNyCT)
• The Japanese Respiratory Society
• The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ)
• Turkish Thoracic Society (TTS)

The ATS is also investing in exclusive events for international members and partners, including the inaugural Respiratory Societies of America session, COPD: The Challenges of Access to Medicines and the Impact of Public and Private Health Policies in the Americas. All respiratory societies in the Americas were invited, including the Canadian Thoracic Society and CHEST. This session will be held on Saturday, May 20, from 1:30–4 p.m. ET.

The session will be moderated by ATS Past President Juan Carlos Celedón, MD, DrPH, the Niels K. Jerne Professor of pediatrics and professor of medicine, epidemiology and human genetics at the University of Pittsburgh, and the division chief of pulmonary medicine at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and Margareth Dalcolmo, MD, PhD, National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil.

Dr. Downey and the ATS implemented this session to improve collaboration between nations within the Americas. Discussions will focus on COPD treatments and how access to therapies varies across regions. After the session, participants can network and develop alliances based on these vital issues.

The ATS extends an invitation to all conference attendees to participate in this session to learn firsthand about the efforts of the ATS in promoting global health and collaborating with international partners to enhance respiratory health worldwide.

“These sessions give people a perspective on how hard it is to make a decision based on what resources they have available to them,” Dr. Downey explained. For a detailed agenda of IPC events, visit the ATS International Conference website.