The History of World Congress

Just over 40 years ago, music therapists from around the world gathered in together and began formulating plan to organize as a profession internationally and to support the development of music therapy on a global level. In the years that have followed, music therapists from all over the world have continued to meet in different cities across the globe, to not only advance this mission, but to also exchange information, advance clinical practice, disseminate research findings, and develop collaborations.

It is a rather impressive listing of events and locations when you peruse the history of the world congress events to date. As you can see from the listing of the 14 world congress events, these international gatherings have taken us to the various corners of the world and many places in between. These events have grown from hundreds to thousands of music therapists gathering together for several days engaging in exciting dialogue, educational exchange, and cultural events.

• 1^st World Congress: 1974 - Paris, France
• 2^nd World Congress: 1976 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
• 3^rd World Congress: 1981 - San Juan, Puerto Rico
• 4^th World Congress: 1983 - Paris, France
• 5^th World Congress: 1985 - Genoa, Italy
• 6^th World Congress: 1990 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• 7^th World Congress: 1993 - Vitoria, Spain
• 8^th World Congress: 1996 - Hamburg, Germany
• 9^th World Congress: 1999 - Washington, D.C., USA
• 10^th World Congress: 2002 - Oxford, United Kingdom
• 11^th World Congress: 2005 - Brisbane, Australia
• 12^th World Congress: 2008 - Buenos Aires Argentina
• 13^th World Congress: 2011 - Seoul, South Korea
• 14^th World Congress: 2014 - Vienna/Krems, Austria

If you have been fortunate to attend more than one world congress, you know that each one is different from the other. Not only do we have the opportunity to explore a new and different country and learn about music therapy in that country, we also experience the unique aspects of the culture during our time at the world congress.

In 2017, we will come together for the 15^th World Congress in Tsukuba, Japan. We will continue to build upon this rich history of advancing the profession of music therapy globally. I look forward to seeing you in Japan.