As the Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, Mahidol University and Chair of the Congress, it is a privilege for me to welcome all of you to the 1st Asian Congress in Nursing Education in Bangkok, Thailand on June 4-6, 2014.  This exciting Congress is entirely dedicated to the celebration of the 72nd Birthday Anniversary of Thai Senator Associate Professor Dr. Tassana Boontong, who is the former Dean of the Faculty of Nursing Mahidol University.  She also served as the Former Second Vice-President of the Senate, the Parliament of Thailand, the Former President of Thailand Nursing and Midwifery Council, and the Former President of the Nurses’ Association of Thailand.  Under her leadership for more than 4 decades, Associate Professor Dr. Tassana Boontong has devoted her time and energy to strengthen nursing education both national and international level, and advocated in the policy arena for legislation that supports the nursing profession in Thailand and other countries in Asia.  This 1st Asian Congress emerged from our aspiration to honor her extraordinary contributions to the nursing education and nursing profession in Thailand and the region.

The organizing committee has made every effort to deliver a Congress meaningful and valuable.  The theme of the Congress is “Transformative Nursing Education for Global Health” which highlights future challenges in nursing education and essence of successful national, regional, and international partnerships to improve quality of education in nursing profession.  In addition, we have invited renowned professors in the field to be the keynote speakers. There are concurrent sessions devoted to the theme of the conference and innovation in nursing education. To benefits those who are in Bangkok for the first time, the sight-seeing tours are arranged.    

I believe that this three-day event will be the platform to encourage and facilitate partnerships, collaborations, and information sharing around nursing education’s issues.  I therefore hope that this event is an enriching experience for all participants.

We are very excited to host this event and looking forward to welcoming you in Bangkok, one of the top tourist destination cities in the world!

Fongcum Tilokskulchai, PhD, RN
Dean, Faculty of Nursing, and
Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Development,
Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand and Chair of the Congress